Obama speaks.

Obama speaks.
"Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction."


This just isn't true. There is no reason to believe that these men and women saw America as bigger than the sum of their individual ambitions. People don't homestead to build a country. They homestead to build a home. To everyone, it's all about individual ambitions. I never had a conversation with anyone that included any reference to god and country. Not ever. It's not a dream, it's a delusion. A false delusion that somehow serves a purpose. Or maybe it's just a ceremonial thing. Jawing about our great nation, Poetizing about things that just don't matter.
If the civil war was about slavery, it was not about saving a nation but destroying an evil practice. Emancipation was worth fighting for. It was a noble purpose. Appropriate or not, rhapsodizing about it helped the war effort.

I'm sorry. I just don't care. It all seems false. I am not touched. They saw America as bigger than the sum of their individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction. No they didn't. They wanted to succeed. to turn out well . The last thing on their minds is their country. Am I missing something?