Q:
Should a person feel any loyalty to America and if so, how should it be expressed?
A:
Should a person feel loyal to America? Should a person feel loyal to a place where you stop, let’s say, when it’s raining and you have a roof over your head? Should you be loyal to the one who gives you that place to be? Certainly. You have refuge from the rain.
America is a refuge place for us. We came here from the lands of persecution. Not only those who came as a result of Hitler but those who came earlier from Czarist Russia and other European countries. They came to a land of equal opportunity. They were amazed at the friendliness here. Our fathers when they came to America were overjoyed. They kissed the earth from happiness.
The American flag is a sign of decency, of compassion. That’s what it is. Of course, it’s only a symbol but it’s a symbol of what Hakadosh Baruch Hu is doing to us. America is a great gift to us. It’s not America that we have to love. We have to love Hashem who gave us America. And if Hakadosh Baruch Hu gives you Australia, you have to love Hashem who gave you Australia.
Now, there’s a principle. בירא דשתית מיניה – If you drink from a well, לא תשדי ביה קלא – don’t throw dirt into it. You have to preserve that well. And even though the well is an inanimate object, you should show gratitude towards the well. That’s a principle. You must show gratitude even towards an inanimate object. That’s a principle of the Gemara (Bava Kama 92b). A well from which you drank, don’t spit into it; don’t throw dirt into it. Show gratitude towards the well.
And so all of us should be grateful to America. But not America. It’s Hashem’s gift to us. Let’s try to maintain that gift and make sure that the liberals don’t ruin it. They’re trying their best. They’re encouraging Russia to expand in South America. Dukakis says he sees nothing wrong in Russia having fly-in states in Central and South America. You hear that? He sees nothing wrong in Russia having fly-in states in Central and South America. That’s a real rasha. Dukakis; a real rasha, a meshugene.
And taxes will go up, way up, when he gets in. You have no idea how big the taxes will be. He’s keeping quiet about it now, but he promised everybody, he promised all the blacks big taxes. You’ll get a lot of money from me. He’s promising on the quiet. Nobody should know about it, however. It’s not good for elections.
And so certainly we should be grateful to Hashem but not America. America is just a symbol. Who is America? This goy or that goy? America is Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s gift to us. We have to appreciate the gift. We have to cooperate with America and try to preserve it.
July 1988
