An Innocent in America

By Victor Volsky

It's been quite a while since I came to this country as a refugee. Over the ensuing decades, I have found my niche in American society; come to appreciate football as the greatest game of all; inured myself to some of the more unsavory aspects of the local culture (and no, try as I might, I have not been able to convince myself that rap is music); and learned enough about America to confidently consider myself a knowledgeable citizen of this great country. Still I just can't fathom certain things about America -- or rather about American political attitudes. Chalk it up to a foreigner's innocence. My chief conundrum is why Americans put up with their political system and sometimes even consider it the best in the world. Are they blind? Can't they see it just doesn't -- and cannot -- work? Consider: A president is elected. The only time when he can truly feel as a head of state is immediately after his electoral triumph, before he takes the.... (Read Full Article)