Lee Greenwood’s iconic song Proud to Be an America always brings a lump to my throat, especially this version, linked here. Even watching it again now raised goose bumps on my arms. As a citizen and veteran of what is still the greatest country on earth, there hasn’t been, for the last many years, that much happening in America to be proud of.
Still, I’m intensely interested in, and try to stay on top of without drowning in, current events. So the last 9 months, I have been aware of the 2 astronauts “stranded” in space when their Boeing spacecraft developed helium leaks. Political grandstanding about this situation aside, on Tuesday the 2 astronauts returned to earth aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft. My brother-in-law, Gary, texted about a half hour before splashdown wondering if we’d be able to see the re-entry. I doubted we would so I turned on live coverage on YouTube.
We see rocket launches from our backyard all the time, it never grows old, but seeing the entire process of capsule re-entry, splashdown, the recovery operation, and finally, the extraction of the 4 astronauts from the burnt marshmallow-like capsule was fascinating and pride inducing. I felt myself getting choked up watching the way American innovation and hard work made this complex operation look almost effortless. I was proud of everyone involved and was, indeed, proud, to be an American in a very tangible way. I even choked up, but not like when I just listen to the song. I choked up in a much more emotional way, how I remember feeling as I stood on the parade field during my graduation from Air Force basic training. The feeling is, literally, indescribable.
There ain’t no doubt I love this land, God bless the USA.
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