Americans are commonly stereotyped for taking for granted many of the benefits, luxuries and pleasures that are shared in these United States.
For instance, being American.
There are many so-called certainties established in this land, many of which date back to the Bill of Rights and the amendments that have since followed. Others are simply assumed or inherited - things that rarely, if ever, differentiate for the norms which we are accustomed to.
Most citizens never stop to think about the luxury they have of walking down a busy street without having to worry about their lives being in serious danger.
We do not consider how efficient and rather effortless the process is for electing our public officials. Nor do we stop to realize how thankful we should be to work under our own free will, or for the ability to attend a public event, say a basketball game, sans the fear of being beaten to death.
All right, we're three for four.
Joking aside, these liberties are often overlooked as rights and not privileges, and although technically speaking they are rights, that still should not discount their value to Americans.
Ask the thousands of Ukrainian presidential candidate supporters, who have been braving fights and harsh weather conditions just to show support for their respective candidate after a possibly fraudulent election.
Even if our electoral college and similar election systems are heavily criticized, the process still manages to accomplish its goal in this great country. More importantly, it does so without the loss of life, bloodshed or mass freezing of the public's extremities during protest.
As Americans, we do not worry about the true possibility of an entirely fraudulent, made-up election. Sure, politicians play some pretty interesting games to earn our vote, but nine times out of 10 they are doing just that: EARNING our vote - not stealing it.
The experiences that our friends across the globe are having right now are nothing but far stretches of the imagination for Americans. Never in our lifetime could the U.S. expect to see a political battle turn this sketchy, this violent and this questionable. Sure, the protests and debates surrounding the 2000 U.S. presidential election were large, but they were far from the madness Ukraine is seeing.
For that, we praise democracy done right.
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