WATER FOUNTAIN

I'm on my way back from Anarchopulco in Acapulco, Mexico and sitting in the airport in Mexico City.  This airport services millions of people, in a city of millions of people, and a simple drinking water fountain does not exist in the entire airport.

                  Does that sound strange?  I'm reminded of Jesus' benchmark principle of hospitality that "if you give a cup of cold water in my name, you've given it to Me."  Not a cup of cold water exists in this entire massive airport in the midst of this mass of humanity.

                  I'm not trying to condemn Mexico, but I can't help but notice this dramatic cultural difference.  Even the smallest airport in the U.S. has water fountains.  Many of them.  What does it say about a culture when its heart is this far removed from the most basic benchmark of meeting needs of travelers and guests?

                  People who condemn America as an evil or humanity-hating culture haven't traveled much.  This is not to dismiss the many things the United States has done that are wrong.  But when you take a composite look at the culture, at the civilizational kindness and elevation of the nation as a whole, few things demonstrate the position as much as how hard it is to get a simple drink of water.

                  Next to air for breathing, water is the most basic component of life.  But it's nowhere to be found here in the Mexico City airport.  Think about what that says regarding love for life or love for death.  The commitment of a nation to deliver the most foundational ingredient of life.

                  As Paul Harvey used to say, "we aren't all equal."  Nations aren't equal and neither are people.  Priorities vary.  Protocols vary.  Getting the essentials done varies.  What does it say about the priorities of a nation that can't offer a cup of cold water where millions gather?  I deeply appreciate that in America anyone going through our airports can get all the water they want, for free.  That is true hospitality and charity.

                  Few things make me tear up quicker than when I've traveled abroad and enter the U.S. airport bearing that beautiful flag across the entry tunnel.  It breaks my heart to know that many in our nation today think we're the most evil culture in history.  They're either ignorant, prejudiced, or suffer from ingratitude.

                  Something as simple as a cup of cold water says a lot about the values and overall achievement of a civilization.  We modern Americans stand on the shoulders of people who cared about what really matters.  Yes, we had and have our rapscallions.  But on balance, I'm proud to be an American and deeply grateful to have been born here, at this time, enjoying the values of a gifted nation.

                  Think about all the other places and times you could have been born.  Most of history is full of struggle, suffering, tyranny, poverty, fear, and difficulty.  But here, in America, you are guaranteed a cup of cold water.  I'll take it, thankfully.  And thank you George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin and a group of wise visionaries the like of which our world has not seen in one place, ever.

                  My heart hurts for people who can't look at the broad spectrum of history, their luxury at getting a free drink of water in the airport, and appreciate America, warts and all.

                  If you're an American (I know I have people from other nations reading these posts), what are you most grateful for about living here today?