8 Comments

• 1. Liz Lowe&hellip  |  July 2nd, 2008 at 7:45 am

  Your email made me cry. We really are SO LUCKY to be living in the land of the FREE !!! When I think of all the people living in fear in some other countries, I get sad, especially for the children. Everyone reading this should pause and say a prayer of THANKS for all that is good in America. Yeah, milk and bread sets you back $10, but at least the milk is available and the bread choices are endless !!! Remember that fact on July 4th, the day we CELEBRATE FREEDOM !!! God Bless Everyone and rejoice !!!!

• 2. Kristen Foster&hellip  |  July 2nd, 2008 at 12:33 pm

  I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your respect and concern for the men and women who serve this country. Being an Army wife has been one of the toughest “jobs” I have ever had – but the pride I have in my husband and the other soldiers who serve with him makes it all worth it. When people make a point to honor those soldiers it does not go unnoticed – when people make an effort to support and honor the family members – it goes far beyond unnoticed. Usually we are the forgotten ones and for you to mention our struggles – means the world to me and I am sure many others. You support us always – with free shipping and constant support from your staff. Thank you – from all the Army wives and military wives (mothers, sisters, girlfriends, etc) out there. God Bless you and the USA!!!

• 3. Marjo Peltoniemi&hellip  |  July 5th, 2008 at 6:36 pm

  Dear Ms. Swatek, I want to take this chance to tell you how much I appreciate your business and what a very happy customer I am. But I also hope to say a few words on a topic that keeps coming up in many blogs, articles and forums frequented by US citizens… I think it’s a great thing to be proud of your country, and I’m sure that in many aspects it is unique in the world. However, as a European citizen I have a hard time deciding whether to be amused or slightly irritated by the recurring theme of freedom and the way that it is presented, which often – not meaning this blog – sounds a bit arrogant and smug.

  As fas as I know, there are no special rights that are unique to US citizens when compared on a global scale. You write: “I have the freedom to eat what I want, dress how I want, run the business that I want, get the education that I want.” I’m a female living in Scandinavia and am free to do all of those things, as are most people in the “western world” at the very least. In addition, I have the right to hike across, camp or boat anywhere I want in nature, and to pick wildflowers, mushrooms and berries wherever I want (see “every man’s rights” via Google/Wikipedia), and gay people can register their partnership here – a right that is lacking in most US states today.

  I sincerely hope that you don’t take this as an insult, as none is meant. I have just seen unfounded praise for US freedom a few times too many, so I thought I might mention that it is not as unique a feature as US schools’ propaganda have led their students to believe(?). Unless, of course, there are some things that I’m completely unaware of.

  Thank you very much for the great shop and the excellent service!

• 4. Marjo Peltoniemi&hellip  |  July 5th, 2008 at 6:40 pm

  Just a quick “PS.” I have always taken the rights mentioned in my post as self-evident. That’s partly why I find it so strange that many people in the US make such an issue of their own, very similar, rights. But maybe that has been my error – you are right in saying that we should never take our good luck for granted (regardless of the country that grants us the rights).

• 5. Julie Swatek&hellip  |  July 7th, 2008 at 10:24 am

  Marjo-

  Thank you for your comments – no insult taken. I can only speak about how I feel, so here goes…

  After the attacks of 9/11, I became acutely aware of how many people in the world despise me simply because I am an American (also, because I am a woman). It was a very sobering experience, to say the least. I know that every day, someone in the world is trying to figure out how to bring my country to it’s knees. A tremendous sense of patriotism was renewed in America after 9/11 and while although it seems to have mostly disappeared from daily life, it swells for me (along with others) on the 4th of July.

  I know that there are many other countries where people enjoy the same freedoms I do on a daily basis. And where my children go to school, there is no “propaganda” that the US has an exclusive on freedom. Again, just speaking for myself personally, I feel grateful everyday for my freedoms, because I know how hard some in the world are trying to take them from me.

  I also went on a trip to Africa several years ago that changed me. I have never seen such poverty in my entire life. When I was there, I realized (again), how lucky I was to live where I live. Anyone in the Western World is blessed compared to those living in third world countries.

  Thank you for reminding me that lots of others in the world enjoy the same freedoms I do and I appreciate you letting me remind you to not take them for granted.

  Julie

• 6. Jo Fountain&hellip  |  July 9th, 2008 at 10:20 am

  EXCELLENT response, Julie!!! The United States is the best country on this earth. God bless you and the USA!

• 7. Marjo Peltoniemi&hellip  |  July 9th, 2008 at 2:29 pm

  Dear Julie, thank you for your response. I can understand how deeply unfair and wrong it must feel when someone is despised without any reason that she has any control over, but simply for being a citizen of a certain country. After all, the vast majority of people are not responsible for any political or economical decisions that their leaders have made, regardless of how people in other countries view them or what effect those decisions may have had on their life, good or bad. Yet, unfortunately, some people are eager to discriminate and blame whole nations. I can see how that can give rise to patriotism and I see nothing wrong in it as such. It’s only the often unaccounted for “we are the best, we are right, we are unique/the luckiest/ blessed” hype that sometimes gets to me a little (again, not meaning you or this blog but just some general observations in the internet) and makes me want to ask: “OK then, give me some details please…”

  I believe that the difference in living conditions between rich countries and poor third world countries is far greater that that between the US and any other western country. Visiting a poor country must make any westerner feel deep compassion for the people who suffer, as well as thank their lucky stars for having been born in a wealthier & safer country.

  It may simply be that the US citizens on average just appreciate their daily freedom more and/or are more constantly aware of it than people in many other countries who have similar/equal rights. In that we all should follow your example and never take our rights for granted, as long as healthy pride does not turn into arrogance or feeling superior.

  …As for Jo’s comment, it may very well be that the United States is “the best country on this Earth” (for whatever the criteria may be). I see no need for such a competition. In order to know which countries are among “the best” I should have some experience in living in most of them. Personally I have only visited about a dozen foreign countries so far (and most of those have only been holiday trips). I don’t think that’s enough experience for me to have an educated opinion.

  Julie, thank you again for answering my comment and for the pleasant conversation. (I have recently returned from my latest trip abroad and am planning my next order… )

• 8. jackie&hellip  |  September 5th, 2008 at 8:23 pm

  i think this is a great thing and hope to see more new stuff up. the people are nice and that is good.