Land of the Free

I am writing in response to Carle Gray’s letter titled, “Do-good adventures” (BDN, July 10-11).

I am not sure if Gray is someone who has never left Maine or if he is a veteran who has served overseas and has simply forgotten the principles he fought for. But he claims to have felt “apathy and depression” about being an American on the Fourth of July.

I have just returned from a two-year tour at the American Embassy in Moscow. I have lived in one of the most restrictive and undemocratic nations in the world, and I have seen and experienced things most Americans will thankfully never have to face. In Russia, even though President Yeltsin is democratically elected, if the parliament does something he doesn’t like, he sacks them. In Russia, policemen routinely stop foreigners and anyone with dark skin to “verify” their documentation. This verification quite often leads to temporary incarceration or even a beating in front of witnesses.

This year, as I celebrated the Fourth of July with my friends in Russia, a mere three days before leaving that country for good, I felt joy and gratitude for being the citizen of a country as free and mighty as America. And after the day was over, I thanked God for our safety. Leslie Smith Orono