An American eulogy

I WAS not born in the USA and that may be why I find myself defending my adopted country with more conviction than other Americans who may be taking their place of birth for granted and feel less constrained in criticising (and in some cases, bashing) it.

It may be a sweeping generalisation, but I find most Americans to be very friendly, always with a smile on their face, projecting a sense of can-do optimism, which makes sense after defeating Nazism and communism, and winning two hot world wars and a cold one in the last century - and building the greatest economy that has ever existed, and in the process absorbing millions of immigrants, landing the first man on the moon and developing a polio vaccine.

And then there is the America that has been an inspiration to the entire world, a steady symbol of individual liberty, political freedom and social progress as has been stipulated in the US Constitution and demonstrated in its system of checks and balances.