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I don't remember how old I was, but I was probably under 10, and this was almost 60 years ago. It was kind of an offhand comment of his, but it really made me think and it stayed with me. My dad was never a patriotic man, but he did recognize that being White and living in the US made one an extremely fortunate person. He said in so many words that the standard of living in the US was the best in the world, that we have freedoms most other countries don't have, that citizens are largely left alone, and being White in the US was such a rare and fortunate thing, one should never take it for granted. He asked me to imagine, if I could, how life would be if I were born in another country. I was young and had no experience to base that hypothetical on, but it didn't seem attractive to me.

Even in the 60s, the US was a good place to live. Most people didn't realize it because we didn't have hordes of aliens trying to invade. Having seen the process over several decades, it saddens me to know what we've lost.