Pride in our country and earmarks

1. What American actions are you proud of?

2. What American actions are you ashamed of?

3. Can we hope to get out of this mess without facing up to Congressional corruption?

4. Why aren't the Presidential candidates asked to defend their earmarks in the debates?

I am proud of some things that my country has done, mostly non-military, such as the Marshall Plan and Tsunami relief. We did the right thing in Korea, the wrong thing in Vietnam.

I am ashamed of some things that my country has done, such as the trail of tears, which betrays the claim that we are a country of laws and not men. The Supreme Court ruled against Andrew Jackson and his land speculator friends; President J said, “John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!” Ralph Waldo Emerson and others in Massachusetts who became anti-slavery activists spoke up against Cherokee removal.