I have a strong sense of self-worth. This post is going to meander amongst several subjects, but at its core, that's the overall message. I'll begin with a little scene, incorporate a quote from Prince Harry, and will tie it all together with a lesson for those of you that are new to Hive.

I specialize in long-form content and don't write low-effort posts. At over 2000 words, this is not light reading, so I'd be shocked if anyone actually read it, but it's good for SEO and supporting Hive on Google as opposed to a one paragraph shitpost (I don't do those). I believe we need more long-form content on Hive and am doing my part. Since it's a deep dive on a subject, I might just post it there. Here we go!

Patriot Games

Come with me back to 2017. I'd won a fellowship to study in Germany and had made the trip over. I, like most Americans, love the UK, especially England. So I folded in a short stop in Iceland (less than 2 hours) and spent 24 hours in Birmingham, England, before continuing on to the continent.

I'm a patriot, but have always had a place in my heart for both England and Canada. I jumped at the opportunity to walk the streets of the same country that gave the world my favorite group, The Beatles, and is steeped in history.

The British accent is the best in the world, full stop. As I lay in my hotel room across the street from the train station, I couldn't believe I was finally here, in British-accent-Heaven. If I ever make it past the literal pearly gates, and am given one wish, it'll be: "I'd like a British accent please" :)

In order to understand my patriotism, you have to know that members of my family have fought in almost every war that the United States has started/been dragged into, since its founding. I can still remember as a boy, answering the door at my grandmothers house and seeing a big box sent out for delivery.

Inside were documents, and medals for one of my ancestors celebrating his service in WWI, all topped by an American flag folded in a triangle.

He served his country with distinction and died in "The war to end all wars" where the Yanks went over to save Europe for what we thought would be the final time, only to have to repeat the operation twenty years later.

As a kid, I was reminded of how lucky I was to have been born in this great country, and reminded that there were many others who only wished that they could have been as lucky as me. Even though we were dirt-poor, we knew there were people out there that had it far worse than we did.

At home we flew the flag on the 4th of July and on Flag day and national events. We were taught never to worhip the flag as an idol, but how to properly fly it and dispose of it (buy burying or burning it a solemn ceremony), and to never let it touch the ground (if it did, it was disposed of properly).

One never threw the flag out in the trash for instance). and we were all given copies of the federal flag code by our school. And yes, any red-blooded American had the God-given right to burn the damn thing in the event of a protest against the government. It's the American thing to do.

So as you can see, patirotism was infused in my upbringing. I love America. Even with our mistakes, we rock!

Capture The Flag!

So, my family's ties to all four branches of the military were deep. And while we were encouraged to recognize and criticize the failings of various governments, there would always be an appreciation for the values and freedoms that this nation was founded on.

So.

I'm in class (remember, I'm a patriot), and by coincidence, four of us had worn our US flag t-shirts. Trump had been President for only eight months, and for some reason the German instructor zeroed in on our shirts. Pointing and looking directly at each of us, he lit into the US students saying: "I see the Americans in the room. You are all responsible for giving the world Donald Trump!"

Whoa, hold up there partner...

He then proceeded to attack us for the failings of the US government. The bombing of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, the attack on Libya in 2011 and Africans (including Nigerians) sold into slavery, and now, the election of Donald Trump.

Everywhere I went in Europe I'd be asked to explain how "we" could have voted for him. It's something I'd seen earlier in my life in the Navy. The rest of the world seemingly impotent against the power of the US government, would always blame the innocent US citizens for the apparent failings of the former.

They couldn't seem to separate the actions of the government from the people. It would be like blaming each German citizen for the coming to power of Adolf Hitler. And you can bet that's exactly what I laid right back into him with.

"Most Americans voted for somebody else" I reminded him. "Then how did Trump get elected?" This prompted a sigh from me and a quick explanation of the electoral college, which was setup to appease the slave-owning states and compel them to join the union when the country was founded.

However, the attacks on the American students continued...

Tiring of it, I told the instructor that if he had a problem with the US government, he should call the White House Switchboard and leave us out of it. I didn't vote for Trump or Clinton, my candidate having "lost" in the primaries.

"Your country started two world wars that we had to be called in to clean up" I told him. "Instead of nuking you like we should have, we freed you from the Nazis and under The Marshall Plan, even rebuilt your country (and Japan as well as other countries on the continent) after the war, providing you with goods and funds that helped make Germany the economic powerhouse of Europe.

All paid for by the American taxpayer. So if you have a problem with my US flag t-shirt, you can go fuck yourself!"

After that he kept his trap shut and actually had to answer to the administration for going after the US students based on where we were from. I think he was shocked that we pushed back so forcefully. Frankly, we were just tired of the constant abuse.

Apparently German students are more passive. We are not. We had a faction of Trump supporters from Michigan in the class and it would be the one time that I actually agreed with them on anything. You have a problem with the US? Take it to the government, and leave the people alone. The President doesn't call me for advice on how to run things.

In German history class, we learned how The Treaty of Versailles humiliated Germany and led to the rise of Adolf Hilter 20 years later. I pray we aren't repeating the same thing with the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Both leaders must have a face-saving offramp out of this in order to avoid breeding the next Hitler.

For the five months I lived in Germany, it was more of the same. Everyone wanted to know what life in the states was like while at the same time treating me as a two-legged representations of the very government they hated.

Taking The Good With The Bad

I'm a student of history. I read a lot. So I know all about:

• The overthrow of the Iranian government led by Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh in the 1950s by the CIA.
• CIA mind control experiments code-named MK-ULTRA in Canada also by the CIA.
• CONTELPRO - The FBI's war on the civil rights movement.
• The gulf of Tonkin incident, that dragged the US deeper into the Vietnam War.
• The US government sponsored overthrow of Salvador Allende, the ELECTED President of Chile on September 11, 1973.
• The Tuskegee experiments where hundreds of African-American men had treatment withheld for syphilis, where deaths occured due to lack of medical care. President Clinton apologized for the study in 1997.
• The massacre of the Native Americans and the theft of their lands.
• The NATO war against Libya which overthrew Gaddafi and led to the African migrant slave markets we have today and the flood of immigrants from African and Middle-Eastern countries into Europe, destroying once peaceful European cities. They took these people in and their thanks? To have their women beaten and raped in return. Almost every refugee I spoke to in Germany hated the country and seemed ungrateful that Germany had welcomed them in and provided a refuge from their war-torn countries. I was astonished.

I could go on and on, but you get the picture.

However, for all of the bad things America does, it also provides a ton of good to the world. Whenever there's a natural disaster in a foreign country, America always leads the way in providing assistance.

All paid for by the American taxpayer...

In the 1990s, we loaned Mexico 20 billion dollars when their country had an economic implosion and was beset by indigenous rebel groups (remember the Zapatista uprising and Subcomandante Marcos?). The writings contained in 'Our Word is Our Weapon' are required reading from The Anarchist Library.

America helped end not one, but two world wars in Europe at the cost of many American lives. The fact that we also rebuilt the war-torn continent afterwards at immense cost to US taxpayers is astounding. We paid to fight and win the wars and also paid for the aftermath.

And the next time you're about to hate on the US, just imagine how different the world would be if it didn't exist. Both world wars would have been lost. There would have been no one to stop India and Pakistan from nuking each other in the 70s.

We would be living in a very different world dominated by both China and Russia, with no country powerful enough to stop them. The war in The Ukraine would be very different now without a US-funded NATO pouring weapons, intelligence and "advisors" into the country. No US around to fulfill the almost daily demands for money and equipment which has now left stocks in the west dangerously low. There would be no HIMARS, and the war would have been lost by now.

From the CNBC article: The U.S. and Europe are running out of weapons to send to Ukraine:

In the U.S. weapons industry, the normal production level for artillery rounds for the 155 millimeter howitzer — a long-range heavy artillery weapon currently used on the battlefields of Ukraine — is about 30,000 rounds per year in peacetime.
The Ukrainian soldiers fighting invading Russian forces go through that amount in roughly two weeks.

The Javelin, produced by Raytheon
and Lockheed Martin, has gained an iconic role in Ukraine — the shoulder-fired, precision-guided anti-tank missile has been indispensable in combating Russian tanks. But production in the U.S. is low at a rate of around 800 per year, and Washington has now sent some 8,500 to Ukraine, according to the CSIS — more than a decades’ worth of production.

More information on how low our weapons stocks are getting can be found here. We have to keep a potential conflict with China in mind so that we have enough arms for our own defensive needs. No one can say America hasn't done her part.

So yes, America has made a difference in the world both good and bad. I'd just like people to see both sides of her.

The hatred directed against American citizens due to the actions of their government when they travel, is one of the reasons why I'm against us being constantly pulled into foreign conflicts.

They only like us when they need us so why bother? We swoop in, save their asses, and are then hated afterwards. My attitude now is that we should stay out of overseas disputes and instead focus on helping our homeless veterans living in the streets. The taxpayer money we spend on foreign aid sent to countries that despise us, can be better put to use right here at home.

It's heartbreaking to see men and women who served in the US military, dressed in rags and living on the streets. While we pump billions and billions of dollars into other countries only to have them spit in our face once the conflict is over. Home is where the heart is, and that's where we need to be. They're going to hate us no matter what we do, so we need to look after our own.

The possibility of the Ukraine conflict turning into WWIII with Russia is frightening, as I know my country isn't prepared at all. Do you know where your public fallout shelter is? Will the few that are left even work to protect the population? Most Americans have no clue where they are (the majority were converted after the end of the Cold War) or what to do in the event of a nuclear attack. We are woefully unprepared.

It's weird. When we intervene, they say: "America thinks its the world police!"

When we stay out they say: America isn't living up to its global responsibilities!"

WTF?

Know Your Own Value And Stay Classy

So, we see the beautiful funeral of Queen Elizabeth and the drama surrounding what uniform Prince Harry will wear. His quote rang true. "My military service is not defined by the uniform I wear." His response was classy and properly returned attention back to the love and affection so many felt for the Queen and a celebration of her life.

And that is how we pivot to Hive. I've been here five years, six if you count the year I spent lurking starting in spring, 2016. I've seen a lot of people come and go, but as with the famous quote used against Senator Elizabeth Warren in her run for President: "Nevertheless, she persisted."

And we will too. If you're new to Hive or have been here awhile and feel you aren't getting the support you deserve, read my post: Even If No One Sees Your Post On Hive, Google Does..., where I discuss who I'm blogging for.

Just like Prince Harry, always remember: you are not defined by an upvote. Good Lord, if I relied solely on the support of the community in the form of upvotes, comments and rehives as a reason to blog, I'd have left long ago as many others did.

But I'm not going anywhere.

I'm a good writer with a very strong sense of self-worth, and know what I bring to this platform. If this place folded tomorrow, I'd begin again somewhere else on the blockchain. Remember: No one owes you an upvote, so get used to that, and ask yourself why you're here in the first place if that is your North Star?

I can't remember the last time I read a positive article about The Duchess of Sussex in the British press. The difference in coverage between her and Kate Middleton is simply astounding. She could develop a cure for cancer and they'd invent some reason to trash her for it.

So she has to find value or have an innate sense of it within herself. Prince Harry's respectful response was perfect, and endeared him to many for his decade of exemplary military service.

You must do the same here on Hive. Know your self-worth and don't ever allow anyone to take that away from you. Keep building, learning and getting better every day.