Today's guest post comes from Spencer Price, author of Spencer Price's Conservative Commentaries. Dr. Price is a lifelong resident of middle Georgia, and a 17-year veteran of the Georgia Army National Guard who served one tour each in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is also a graduate of Mercer University and Mercer School of Medicine, with a broad variety of hobbies, interests, and educational pursuits. His columns appear in numerous Georgia newspapers, as well as on his website, http://conservativecommentaries.com. Useful Discourse is pleased to present his latest commentary to our readers. 
It’s called the Georgia National Fair and it’s huge. Held every October at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry, the 10-day event attracts tens of thousands of visitors from all over Georgia and the Southeast. There are Ferris wheels and roller coasters, livestock exhibits and farm equipment displays, games of skill and games of chance, and enough bar-b-que, funnel cakes and cotton candy to feed an army.
And there are lots of people. Some are from just down the road and some are from hundreds of miles away. There are people of every shape and size and age and color. And they are from all walks of life. But no matter where they’re from or what they look like or what they do for a living, they’re all there for the same reason –to have a little fun.
I went there to have a little fun, too. But, more importantly, I went to make sure my wife and her niece and nephew had a little fun. We ate ice cream, played games, rode rides, and just generally had a ball. The fair is a place where kids can be kids and adults can be kids, too.
But there’s more going on at the fair than just fun and games. There are families spending time together, holding hands, laughing and being silly, taking goofy pictures and making memories for a lifetime. There are little kids struggling to control their fear while climbing aboard a scary ride.
There’s a 5thgrader who, after spending countless hours feeding and grooming and caring for a prized calf, will feel an indescribable pride at seeing his calf take first place. And there are other 5thgraders who, in disappointment, will learn the lesson of good sportsmanship and the ever more important lesson that all are winners who work hard and do their best.
There’s a guy sitting on a bench eating a corn dog smothered in mustard. There’s a family sitting at a picnic table eating ribs and Brunswick stew and drinking sweet tea. There are people of all ages sitting by the lake watching the sun go down and waiting for the fireworks to start. There’s a crowd in front of the stage watching an open-air country music concert. There are teen-aged boys spending their last dollar trying to win their dates stuffed animals and teen-aged girls with way too much make-up staring at their dates as they take aim at the target.
There are young couples walking hand in hand, beginning a journey that, with a little luck, just might last a lifetime. And there are older couples that started that same journey a lifetime ago who are still walking hand in hand. For some, this fair will be there first. For some, it will be there last. For all, it will be memorable.
And there is commerce of every sort – the buying and selling of tickets and food and toys and souvenirs. And yet the flurry of commerce that takes place at the fair is but a fraction of the total commercial activity that takes place across America to bring in all the products and people and spendable currency. Yes, capitalism on display and capitalism behind the scenes.
The Georgia National Fair is more than just a place to have a few laughs. It’s a microcosm of America at its best – a demonstration of the principles that make America exceptional such as family, fellowship, community, hard work, determination, innovation, and capitalism, just to name a few. All nations have their form of outdoor activity where people come together to laugh and to share, to compete and to recreate. But no one else does it like America – with the same style and scale and creativity.
America haters the world over love to deny America’s exceptionality. But they can’t fool me. Sure, we have our problems. But America is so much more that is good. In every direction and in every locale, from major cities to county fairs, American exceptionalism is on display. See for yourself.