The Top 100 Reasons Why I Love America

Here we are, 246 years after the United States of America declared independence from Great Britain. I reject anti-Americanism, and I declare that I love America. These are my reasons.

Berlin, July 4th, 2022 (The Berlin Spectator) — It is not all positive. The treatment of the Native Americans, slavery, some interventions and wars, including Vietnam, were wrong. There are issues today too: Donald Trump almost succeeded in destroying America’s democracy, but he has not been held accountable or stopped. The guns are one of the biggest problems. So is the level of racism and similar forms of hatred.

Good Stuff

But this is not about the bad things. It’s Independence Day.

Ready for the top 100 reasons why I love America? Their order is random. Here we go:

1

The original Sesame Street

2

The beaches of Delaware

3

“What Do People Do All Day” by Richard Scarry

4

The Blue Note in Manhattan

5

Those old and rundown motels all over the place, with their unique atmosphere

6

NASA’s activities at Kennedy Space Center

7

Those real hamburger places where you can add all the tomato and onion slices you want

8

The musicals, Broadway and all of that

9

The ivy league colleges and other great universities

10

Jennifer Hudson’s version of America’s National Anthem

Nobody sings the National Anthem like Jennifer Hudson.

11

Pentagon City Mall in Arlington, Virginia

12

Smooth rides on the clean and cool Metro in the District of Columbia

13

The late Jack Lemmon

14

America’s stance at the UNHRC and other United Nations bodies

15

Airplane watching at the park next to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, right at the Potomac river banks

16

Memories of New York City in the late 1970s

17

Michael Douglas’ speech in “The American President”

18

Those huge breakfasts at American diners

19

Chocolate chip cookies

20

American humor in general

New York City’s China Town is a great place.

21

Talking to Amish at the markets they sell their produce at, in German

22

“All that Jazz” (both the music genre and the movie of this title, starring the late Roy Scheider and Jessica Lange)

23

The Golden Globes and the Academy Awards

24

Soul tunes of the late 1970s, with their expensive arrangements

25

Taking walks in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia

26

The late Don Rickles, who delivered ‘insult comedy’ for decades

27

Creamy American peanut butter

28

The late activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner

29

The impression that Americans are a little less politically correct than us Europeans, in some ways

30

The American Dream

James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were good people.

31

Getting lost in the northeastern part of the D.C.

32

Purchasing milk in one-gallon containers

33

Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco

34

All of those political movies made in the late 1970s, including “Missing” and “The China Syndrome”

35

The custom of munching hamburgers while attending Jazz concerts

36

American apple pie

37

Amy Gutmann, America’s new Ambassador to Germany

38

Sojourner Truth, the late abolitionist and women’s rights activist

39

Route 66 and the dream of following it in its entirety in a camper van

40

The smell of Cincinnati’s streets after the rain

Many of us love Cheddar, unless it is the only kind of cheese they offer and we have to eat it every day.

41

The energetic and convincing way Americans present the news on electronic media

42

Californian apple cider

43

Good Republicans such as Nikki Haley and John Kasich

44

Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”

45

The American approach to dating

46

The late artist James Rizzi

47

Denzel Washington’s work

48

All the swearing, especially among men

49

America’s huge contribution to the Allies’ victory over Nazi Germany

50

American AOR (‘Adult-Oriented Rock’)

“The China Syndrome” (1979) with Jack Lemmon (left), Michael Douglas and Jane Fonda was a convincing Hollywood film. Photo: Columbia Pictures

51

The way Americans build houses within a few hours

52

The fact that The United States generally is a good place for Jews

53

The museums in Washington D.C.

54

The multi-instrumentalist and composer Patrice Rushen

55

The late Eugene Cernan, who was the last man on the Moon

56

Trips on the Interstate 95 from the D.C. to NYC

57

The American-German storyteller Gayle Tufts

58

The Democratic President William Jefferson Clinton from Little Rock, Arkansas

59

Jay Leno’s Garage

60

The Mexican-American comedian George Lopez

Made in America: The Boeing 747 has flown a lot of people across all oceans and continents this planet provides.

61

The Mexican-American musician Carlos Santana and his band

62

America’s stance on Israel under Bush I, Clinton, Bush II and even Trump

63

The actress Rene Russo

64

The country’s diversity, in many ways

65

America’s support for the free part of Bosnia and Hercegovina in 1995

66

The politeness many Americans show

67

The sounds of Earth, Wind and Fire, the best band in the world, especially the stuff they recorded from 1976 to 1981

68

The fact that many apartments are being rented out with carpeting and all amenities

69

The national U.S. version of CNN

70

The size of those steaks they offer at Safeway in Virginia

Don Rickles was one of the funniest Americans ever.

71

The Birchmere in Annapolis, Maryland

72

Dulles Airport in Virginia, its retro style and atmosphere

73

American Cheddar cheese

74

American Cranberry juice

75

The late bass hero Louis Johnson

76

The Boeing 747, a former bestseller that helped us travel around the world

77

Michelle Obama, the attorney, author and former First Lady

78

The Ford LTD and other huge 1970s cars propelled by V8 engines

79

State Route 1 in California

80

Chinatown, in New York, San Francisco and elsewhere

Earth, Wind & Fire is the best band of all time. Period.

81

Martin Luther King

82

Baby books by Sandra Boynton

83

The fact that Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson just became the 116th Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court

84

Drive-in banks and drive-in everything

85

The international restaurants in Washington D.C.’s Adams Morgan neighborhood

86

Yosemite National Park in California

87

The percussion heroes Sheila and Pete Escovedo

88

The way America cools down the air substantially with a gazillion A/Cs

89

Brilliant American musicians and composers who are not with us anymore, including Charles Stepney, George Duke, Maurice White, Minnie Riperton and Janis Joplin

90

The late comedians George Carlin and Richard Pryor

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91

America’s knowhow in regard to shows and presentation

92

American inventions, including the telephone, the radio and the metal zipper

93

Millions of great American movies of all kinds

94

Kosher Chinese food in Cedarhurst, New York

95

The late President John F. Kennedy

96

The late actor Sidney Poitier

97

The late Democrat Madeleine Albright

98

The satirical newspaper “The Onion”

99

The gas prices in the U.S., which are still good compared to Europe

100

Dog walking in Prospect Park, Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York

Photo at top of page by U.S. federal government (Ketanji Brown Jackson) and NASA (Eugene Cernan)

U.S.