I understand if you're proud to be an American today. If you support Barack Obama, you should be proud.
I understand if you're especially proud to be an American today. If you don't like the direction in which America has been heading and believe Barack Obama will take this country in a better direction, should should be especially proud.
I understand if you're once again proud to be an American. The American people and her leaders have undoubtedly made decisions of which we were not proud at one point or another. If you see this as a positive, defining moment for a currently struggling nation, you should be once again proud.
But if you're finally proud to be an American, I pity you.
If you're finally proud, it means you have been blind to the good things about America. We are not an ignorant, arrogant, selfish nation. We are a generous nation, a nation where people from all walks of life come together in support of each other. Think of the outpouring of American support during disasters like the tsunami a couple years ago. Think of the masses of volunteers who helped (and continue to help) in the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Think of the organizations we support in our communities. Think of the many, many American nonprofit groups dedicated to service in third world countries. Think of the soldiers who put their lives on the line for others. Think of your ancestors who scrimped and saved and sacrificed to get you to this land of opportunity.
Today, you can be proud. Be especially proud. Be once again proud. But don't insult the people of this country by being finally proud.
5 comments:
Ahhh, Facebook...why is your status update textbox character-limited?
Then again, if it hadn't been, I wouldn't have been propositioned by Ryan. And there'd be no likelihood of my seeing him in a sheer négligée. :-)
Well said, Laurie.
Bravo, Laurie. This was really excellently said - as usual.
Not that this will in any way interfere with my liaison with Tim. ;)
Ryan
P.S. Word verification = "nests"! Freudian?
Dirrrrrrrty...
:)
...I think it was the unqualified "ALWAYS" that sent the red flags up in my mind. I'm very careful about NEVER using absolute terminology like that. I NEVER use superlatives, because they are ALWAYS misconstrued. :-)
But to my mind, a statement like that (with the "always") implies a sycophantic perspective on our nation. For example, we trained the Black Panther Battalion in counter-insurgency tactics that led to the gang-raping, massacring, and raping of an entire Salvadoran village, all because Reagan and the rest of the Cold Warriors couldn't stand the idea of leftist guerrilla movements in Latin America rising up against oppressive right-wing governments. Is *that* something to be proud of?
Or, in a more recent example, Abu Ghraib? My point is, no matter how much good our country has done, when something THAT shameful is done by us, that pride should waver, at least a little.
I'd say it'd be appropriate for the pride to be shelved until we've set the situation aright, but in some cases that has been going on for 40+ years.
[Cf. the Nicaragua v. United States case in the International Court of Justice, and specifically the fact that we blatantly violated international law, were ordered to pay reparations in the amount of ~$320 million (with an "m") dollars to atone for deaths, disruption of international trade, etc. that we caused -- and we refuse to do so. Umm...that's less than what many of our professional basketball players have made, and we can't pay that because it'd mean admitting we did wrong? In my mind, that makes it pretty difficult to be proud of my country. All the good things it has done tend to get glossed over in light of the arrogance of its actions and its undeserved sense of moral superiority.]
...now, I know that's extreme for some folks, so I wouldn't necessarily expect that from everyone. But to say you've ALWAYS been proud of your country? My response would be, "Well, then you just haven't been paying attention."
(And if foreign policy just don't get you goin', how about the Trail of Tears? Or Executive Order 9066?
P.S. You know I love you and your patriotic heart, right?
I get your point, Tim. My argument is this: at the same time America does things of which we should NOT be proud (your Nicaragua example), are its people not simultaneously doing things of which we SHOULD be proud (charitable work, etc.)? I can say I'm not proud of the behaviors of certain Americans or not proud of certain decisions made by American leaders, but those certain behaviors and decisions weigh less on my heart than the day-to-day (and often extraordinary) goodness of the American people.
I'm not blind; I am paying attention. I know when we screw things up and I can get just as frustrated as you when our leaders fail to fix them. But until I can't find more good than bad, I will always be proud to be American.
(For everyone besides Tim and Ryan: You'll note that I don't say everyone should always be proud to be an American in my blog post. I understand that not everyone has my patriotic little heart, and I'm fine with that. So really, Tim's comment and this response is more in reference to my Facebook status than my blog post. Just to clarify.)
Post a Comment