What I Miss About America

 Here are just a few of the things I miss since America entered the golden age of Hope and Change in January 2009.

 o Optimism

 o Going for minutes, hours, even days, without worrying about what weird insanity the government is dreaming up next

 o Having money

 o The Border Patrol

 o Looking up at the moon and thinking, "America - we own space!"

 o Having a president whose background isn't more closely guarded than the formula for Coke

 o Going on vacation without the TSA auditioning me for "Stella Does Dallas"

 o Jobs

 o Not feeling like I have to whisper, if I say something that's not completely, 100% complimentary about our president

 o Listening to the latest rant against Israel at the UN, without wondering if it's coming from the American Ambassador

 o Feeling protected

 o Having a president who doesn't want to fundamentally transform me

 o Getting a doctor's appointment right away and not thinking, "That was nice while it lasted."

 o Having a president who would never, ever bow to the Saudi king, the Chinese premier, the Japanese prime minister and the mayor of Tampa

 o Gazing up at the sky and not wondering if that's a bird or a drone

 o Snacking on whatever I want, while the First Lady remains calm and indifferent

 o Having a president who thinks it would be unimaginably crazy to bring the 9/11 conspirators to New York for a civil trial

 o Privacy

 o Separation of State and Media

 o College graduates with a future in America, not China or Hong Kong

 o Having a president who inspires us to feel that Americans are all in this game together

 o A dollar that's worth 100 cents and isn't signed by a tax cheat

 o America's Triple-A rating

 o Having a president who doesn't seem needier for attention than Paris Hilton

 o Strolling through the mall without worrying about racially-motivated flash mobs

 o Looking at maps without trying to figure out where I can run

 o Reading 1984 as an interesting work of fiction

 o Dignity

 o Pride

What do you miss?

Write Stella Paul at stellapundit@aol.com