To Me America Is....

Okay, so this weeks blog post is about what signifies America to you. Pick two images, one must be positive and the other negative. Here goes...

Arnold Schwarzenegger. Body Builder, Actor/Action Movie Star, Restauranter......Governor of California? Who saw that one coming?! Well, he's been office now for coming up six years now and despite being in the press recently and being labelled as weak, 'The Governator' is still going strong. He's probably one of the only Republicans I have any respect for! The reason I've chosen Arnie is because to me, he signifies 'The American Dream'. From a little boy who was born and raised in a small Austrian village, he has moved on to become possibly the most famous Action Hero of all time with the most quoted phrase, "I'll be back." This is in additiion to becoming a multi millionaire, owning a chain of restaurants around the globe and eventually becoming the Governor of one of the largest states in the US. It proves that America really does embrace people from all backgrounds and cultures, and it really can make dreams come true. And as if all this wasn't enough, it's rumoured that Arnold might run for US Senate in 2010! He's come such a long way from being known as a European Body Builder and he is now a respected member of Government, tackling climate change and trying to make the world a better place. And it's all because he made the move to America. If that doesn't show the USA in a positive light, then I'm not sure what does! And the person who inspired Schwarzanegger to pick a party not long after he arrived in America? Richard Nixon. Who knew? Anyone can embrace the American Ideals and make it work in their favour, all you need is a little faith in the system and a little hope and determination in your heart.

The NRA. National Rifle Association. To me, this is everything that is wrong with America. Well, gun control in general. Or lack of it should I say. I do realise that I am complaining about something that is part of the Constitution, The Second Amendment, a 233 year old law that I believe was only really put in place to protect the American's from the invading British. It angers me when I think about how many innocent lives have been taken because it is so easy to get hold of a gun. Thank god for the Brady Bill otherwise we'd all be in a whole heap of trouble! I'd like to reference two tragedies that have happened in the past decade. The Columbine High School Massacre that happened in 1999 and the Virginia Tech Massacre that happened in 2007. Both threw up huge red flags as to why these boys were allowed access to guns. In Columbine, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold murdered 12 of their fellow students, a teacher and injured 21 others, while 3 were injured whilst trying to escape and then they turned the guns on themselves. 8 Years later in Virginia, Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people around campus and injured 23 others before he too turned the gun on himself. It was later revealed that Seung-Hui Cho was declare 'mentally unsound' which prompted people all over the world to ask: "Why was he allowed a gun?" Since then, various laws (especially in the State of Virginia) have been tightened, but these events should have never occurred in the first place. I mean you can now buy a gun from Wallmart (the company that owns ASDA) along with all the necessary equipment! That is insane! I won't say too much more because I think you can see what I'm getting at, but something needs to be done. There are alot of things right with America, but there are a lot of things that are wrong, and to me, this is one of the biggest problems facing America's youth today. Us Brit's have recently seen a rapid rise in knife crime, but imagine having to live in fear 24/7 when you know that any nutter, even your next door neighbour can walk off the street into the local supermarket and purchase a shotgun. Scary stuff, huh?