Sean shared some worship and a meal with his local Sikh congregation, and had some thoughts about it.  His conclusion:  We’re all Americans, no matter where we or our ancestors came from.  I heartily agree.

Now to the good stuff. I am a patriot. The sight of the flag makes me happy. I believe in America and in Americans. I take second place to no one in love for my country. The Sikh speakers, especially the President of the temple, exceeded me in patriotism by a long shot. America is not blood, and it’s not soil. America is ideas, and the people who believe them. These were Americans. They might have been born here or far away. But once they started talking about America, the “best” and “safest country in the world”, you could tell that they were Americans. These are not scare quotes, these are direct quotes from the speakers. Thomas Jefferson might have had a problem understanding the accents, but not the sentiments.

Go on over and read the whole thing.