Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong nation - I could easily be a European. I know I was born into the wrong family. My parents and my sister were conservative Republicans and I was a liberal Democrat in the 1960s and 70s when being liberal meant something different than it does today.

I was raised in a small town on East Coast and now I live in a loving community in Northern California. We don't have the kind of crime rates that big cities do. There are helicopters about but their mainly looking for lost seniors who wandered from the family homes or elder care facilities.

There is a lot of sugar in the mainstream restaurants and the American diet is fixed on lots of sugar. I cut sugar from my diet completely except for occasional fruit sugars.

I had a police officer pull me over for speeding several years back and we had a very pleasant conversation about peace. All of my encounters with police have been respectful and even friendly over the years (and I'm white, so there's that).

I have run into a few religious zealots but no one the screams at me, or anyone. This is wine country and people are attracted to this place because they see community here.

I do agree that there are a lot of deluded Americans thinking that "we are the greatest nation in the world". We used to be better than now. Be we've always taken up a role as the world's police force, which I disagree with.