politics5555

With the July the Fourth holiday coming up this week I got to thinking about patriotism. I’ve never really considered myself to be patriotic and have never seen the point of it. I mean why should I “love my country” and defend it, promote it, and support it? I mean this is just where I was born, I had no choice in the matter, and so if I were born anywhere else in the world I’m guessing I’d feel about the same. I mean what has America done? Enslaved millions of blacks and Japanese and who knows who else. We’ve practically killed off the Native Americans and stole thier land from then as well as the Mexicans. We’ve gone all over the world and exploited other countries for thier goods, and land, and people and then left just as quickly as we came leaving devastation in our wake. So really, what’s with all this Patriotism crap?

   Throughout this campaign there’s been all this talk about whom of the two main candidates is MORE patriotic then the other. Obama being slammed for not being hundredth generation American. And being slammed for not wearing a stupid flag pen and being slammed for not enrolling in the military the minute he turned 18. Michelle Obama being slammed for saying “that for the first time in her adult life she was really proud of her country”. What the hell is wrong with saying that, I’ve wondered in these last weeks as that line has been played over and over again as evidence that she’s not “patriotic enough”. What the hell was she supposed to be proud of? As a black person in America, ESPECIALLY a black female in America you are taught from the minute you are born that in this country you are less than. You are taught that your ancestors were brought here as slaves and that now that you’ve been freed you can just take your black ass back to Africa. You are taught that your skin is too dark, your hair too nappy, your lips and nose too big and your figure fat and gross. So why would we be proud of America? I’ve even heard people say that since she graduated from Harvard and Princeton she should should just be grateful and has nothing to complain about. As if her own personal success in some way
“makes up” for all that has happened in the past. Give me a break…

The only time in my life that I felt something that might be called patriotism was in the weeks following 9/11. I felt this swell in my heart of sympathy for all those that lost thier lives that day, and thier families. I felt so much pride in our flag and was one of those people who rushed out to get a flag for my car. I cried and had nightmares for weeks after the 9/11 tragedy and felt hope and security when our President, George W. Bush, said that he would find all those that were responsible for this mass murder and make them accountable. I was so glad we had a President so tough and strong and that was gonna watch after us and take care of us, and that we were also going to take care of ourselves. So many people were so much nicer to each other at that time. I was so proud to be American and felt very much….patriotic, I guess. But in that feeling of patriotism there was an even bigger feeling of “hyper-nationalism” I guess. A feeling that we were better, nicer, stronger then anybody else and that anyone what wanted to screw with us better watch out because we weren’t having it! If we needed to go to war to find Osama Bin Laden and his supporters then so be it, let’s roll! But we all know how that ended….here we are 5 years later and Osama is still free and putting out more new tapes then Tupac, and we are spending tens of millions of dollars a day in the wrong damn country.

And so that feeling of patriotism has faded significantly. We are hated around the world more then ever, our President TOTALLY SUCKS, and we are drowning in debt as a country as owe our asses to China. We don’t have healthcare, we don’t have homes to live in, and kids are failing in school. And so I’m REALLY struggling to find any sense of pride or loyalty in my country. I have often thought that the best thing to do for myself and my family is to move to Canada. And I know its taboo to say that one is not a patriot, but its the truth of how I’ve been feeling…

But as I listened to Senator Obama’s speech on patriotism earlier this week, and what patriotism meant to him. I found that maybe I am a little bit more patriotic then I thought. I AM really proud of the fact that enough Americans have had the good sense to see that Obama is the best person to represent the Democratic party this November. And I AM proud of the fact that the rest of the world looks to America when it needs help, even if we don’t always provide it like in Zimbabwe and Darfur. But most of all, I find my Patriotism in how GRATEFUL I am that I was born here. I am so grateful that my mom came to America before she had me, because had I been born in Haiti, I’m not sure where I would be now, but am very sure I would not have had as blessed a life as I have had with all its opportunities. And I am so grateful that I was born and grew up in a country were I don’t have to worry about female circumcision, or political violence, or bombings at my local market, school, or place of worship. I am so grateful that I don’t have to worry about unpunished sexual violence and that me and my kids never have to starve or thirst because the nearest food or water is miles away. I am SO GRATEFUL to be an American, and not because we’re perfect, or better, or stronger, or the greatest country in the world. I am grateful to be an American not because we can crush others, or steal from them, or because we have enslaved millions. I am grateful to be an American not  because of George W. Bush, or hurricane Katrina, and certainly not Iraq. I am grateful to be an American not for what our past is, or what our present has become……I am grateful to be an American because of what we can be. What we can be when we have God and compassion in our hearts. What we can be when we pull together in times of tragedy and help each other out. What we can be when we put our resources together and put our own comfort and security aside to help other people from around the globe. What we can be when stop saying that America is the greatest country in the world and start realizing we aren’t better then anybody else and finding some comfort in knowing that.

So when I’m looking up at the Fireworks this Friday, with tears in my eyes and joy in my heart. I will not be celebrating America’s birthday, but rather its re-birth. In the hopes that with the coming years, and with the right leadership; we CAN BE as great as we like to think we are. And “YES WE CAN” is about as Patriotic as this girl is gonna get.

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