Funny enough, I am an American, who is currently residing in England. I came because I have always been drawn here...it's in my blood and I love the fact that there is a house, still standing here, that was built buy my Great, Great-grandfathers. Throw in many other nationalities and I am a true American Mutt..lol

I actually don't like America right now. But I have faith in our president elect.

America was founded by men looking for freedom, right? From taxes and harsh regulation. We wanted to form our own rules and rights and make it a place of welcome for all. "The Great American Melting Pot".

Now, people are bitching about immigrants, "taking our jobs and resources" and people are actually complaining that some forms are now in multiple languages. But guess what?? We drove the natives from their land...killed them, forced the survivors into reservations (or "underground") and now we let them have casino's, which make MILLIONS and MILLIONS of dollars, yet the majority of the people on some reservations in my home area, live far below the poverty line.

Also, "Land of the free and home of the brave" MY ASS!! It's who you know and how much money you have. We have the right to vote, yeah, but for the candidates chosen by the people in power. And how did they get chosen? By "greasing" (or oiling) the pockets, or trading favors with those in power. And how does one come to power...MONEY.

In addition...we pay taxes to fund wars that we have no say on. We want to spend BILLIONS drilling for oil in/on pristine country or coastline and for what? A years worth of oil?? The government wont fund too much alternative fuel research, as most of the people in power have stock in Oil. And why? Because it was given to them, in exchange votes into office.

Wow...I didn't realize I had so much pent up anger over this...

Last...god forbid that a once law abiding citizen, with a clean criminal record, all the way up to the federal level, should make a little mistake like getting a DUI...because then, no matter the severity or past record (or total lack of) you are lumped in with other criminals and loose certain rights and freedoms. Matters not that you are now clean and sober, or that there was no accident, damage or struggle

Whew...I'll step off my soap box now...says one American who is holding her breath that Obama will truly make positive changes. But sadly, I can't remember a single president who has actually done the things he promised us to get the votes.

Thanks for your post, its nice to meet a fellow american here in the UK. you made the right choice lol.

i too share your view about your new president, i think (from his pre-election blurb) that he will make a 'good, honest' president and that hopefully he may bring some stability to the US economy, because lets face it, if the US economy picks up, then hopefully ours will follow suit.

I like the idea of your constitution, i won't pretend to know much about it, but what does it mean to you? and do American's still hold it in high regard? Where abouts in the US are you originally from Kristi?

Sorry if this is a 'deep' post, but i am really interested. thanks, Cole

while im not interested in a political reply, i will say i LOVE living in america and i am glad i am here. i think i love the scenery the most. you can drive from state to state and see the most different things out your window. from 100 different types of beaches, to mountains, to deserts, to plains, lakes, rivers, its is so pretty! i also love the array of accents across our nation. LOLOL. do people in other countries REALIZE how many accents we have here in the us? i am a "hick" myself. (the ozarks) you can drive 15 min across the south and find a new accent. same with new york, right? i love it.

Interesting post, Cole! I would agree with lovemy2 and choose the beauty from sea to shining sea. Absolutely gorgeous!

(by the way; all my favorite music groups are British-lots of talent there!)

Wow... I never thought about why I "loved" my country before. I just always have... despite her imperfections. I love the history and how we have tried hard to learn from our forefathers mistakes. I love how beautiful this country is and how beautiful the people who live here are. I love how people come to this country and bring new ideas and cultures. This is a great country to call home.

Nice post Cole...I love America for everything she has to offer. Whether it be a beautiful landscape, freedom to do & be who you want to be and amazing opportunities for ANYONE that wants to better themselves. This is a wonderful country and I'm proud to be an american!

Interesting Cole. I am a first generation American, my parents moved here to escape oppression from their home government and lived the "American dream". They came here with very little and worked very very hard. And now they live well without political oppression.

America has a lot of problems, but we are free to talk about them!! In other countries, we could get jailed for that! I feel really lucky to be here, most of the time :)

This is a great post and I had to think a little-
I think the thing I like most about America is that we speak English- LOL. It sure makes life easier when you speak the language....

I too love all 50 states and each one has something unique and beautiful to offer.

I love that the opportunities are endless and we are free to pursue our dreams and make our lives exactly what we want.

I love many other countries too and if I had to pick a place other tham America to live it would be New Zealand- I was there once - its beautiful and I love the accent.

"The idea of America" is a beautiful thing to love. I am a citizen of the United States and I am very patriotic. My patriotism is rooted in the belief of the ideals of this country set forth in our Declaration of Independence and outlined in our Constitution and its Bill of Rights. I am, however, not a nationalist, and I disagree with most of what has transpired under the influence of George W. Bush. Especially, I disagree with invading other countries via "pre-emptive strikes" under false pretenses and creating animosity among nations who choose not to participate in this bloodshed.

We are in grave danger of losing (and in some cases have lost) the very things that set us apart from so many other nations: our right to protest, or right to freedom from taxation without representation, or right to freedom of religious expression, habeus corpus, free speech, freedom from conscription, and freedom from governance by military force, freedom of the press. . . There are provisions set forth in the structure of our government that are designed to protect us from relinquishing these freedoms, but individually they are often seen as unimportant. There has also been a concentrated effort to scare the dickens out of people with threats of terrorism and to convince them that they will be safer if they allow the government to spy on, imprison, censure and torture those "THEY" deem a threat. As near as I can tell, many of our citizens are not aware of how easily they could be perceived as "THEY."

The negative and damaging trend we've seen over the last eight years doesn't have to be permanently crippling. We have the resources to rebuild and repair without starting a revolution. I see great promise in our President-elect and the cabinet members he has chosen.

I think it's interesting that - even though I'm aware that the United States of America is not all there is to "America" - I sometimes still refer to myself as "American" and my country as "America." It wasn't long ago that some friends of mine from Mexico told me, "You know ... there is much more to America than just your country." Some people in Canada, Mexico and South America for instance think we are being arrogant when we say, in the United States, that we are "American." It's one of the things I'm trying to catch myself with before I mis-speak - old habits, as we know as ex-smokers, can be challenging to break.

I am envious of England's men's shoes, suits and accessibility to Graham Norton.

I am English but I live in Spain.

That does not mean that there is anything wrong with England - except the weather.

I moved to Spain not because I had anything against my home country but because I suffer from a condition called SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and suffer acute depression in the English climate.

If only the sun would shine there more often I would go back tomorrow.

Thanks for taking the time to write these replies, they are all brilliant. its great to get to know a little bit about what makes my friends tick, thank you all again, regards, Cole

I AM CANADIAN......WHOOPS guess I watch too many commercials. I also love my country for many of the same reasons my counterparts have relayed,the freedom,the beauty,the cultural diversity, and the beautiful. I am not in any way racist but I get discouraged by the cancellation of the childrens Christmas concerts at schools because it is an insult to other nationalities.To me that almost teaches children to be angry at other races because in there young minds it was that other child from another country that made us stop telling the story of Christmas. A dream of mine is world peace and this could start in the schools by letting the children learn and understand and celebrate the practices from all countries. With that children would learn while they enjoy the celebrations.
Other than that I am a true Canadian and proud of it.

Great post! What I love about my country is definately the scenery, the diversity, the freedoms we enjoy!!!! I often think about what it would be like to have been born elsewhere where people aren't so lucky where there is not enough food and too much poverty and no freedom to think and live as you like. I would like to travel the world and see how everybody else lives but I could not afford to, especially with the economy we are all enjoying due to greed!!