Patriotism

Summer’s coming up and there are already plans being made for holidays such as Memorial Day and July 4th. People are asking me what I’m doing and if I want to do this or that – or help them come up with ideas. While I’m making plans, I am constantly reminded of why we are celebrating these holidays. We celebrate Memorial Day and July 4th because America is patriotic...supposedly.

What does it mean to be patriotic? What qualifies someone as a patriotic person? Is it standing up a couple times a year saying “I’m proud to be an American” or putting your right hand over your heart while they sing the National Anthem at ball games? Is it having pool parties with the American flag flying in the background while a bunch of people clink beer bottles together? Or is it knowing all the words to all the songs written about America? Is it putting your life on the line by joining the armed forces and dying in a foreign land? Can you be against the war and still be patriotic?

My pastor’s very patriotic. I guess he has a good reason for it. His son was killed in Afghanistan a few years back. As a result, we hear bits about being patriotic, supporting the war and praying for all these Americans that are over there putting their lives on the line and defending us. That's all I ever hear from supporters of the war. "Let's honor these soldiers who are defending their country." First of all, this isn't defending America, this is invading other countries like the pigheads we are thinking that we have the right to kill their leaders and reform their government into a democracy. Yeah - we have all the answers. Our government and country is perfect, huh? While the underlying reason is the prevent anything horrible from happening to us in the future, I think that our government was just a little too quick on the button this time, rushing in to prevent something that probably wasn’t even going to happen in the first place.

This morning, my pastor spoke about his trip to Florida last week to a memorial for all the soldiers that died in the last year. He spoke of meeting these families and he recalled that each and every one of these families (there were 15 families in all) said that they were so very proud of their fallen soldier. That sparked something in me. I understand that they could be feeling proud that their loved one gave up his life for our country. I do feel sorry for all these people who suffer the loss of their loved ones, I really do. But that’s where my sympathy stops.

I do think it’s very admirable that these soldiers were willing to go fight overseas. That's something I could never do. Maybe I'm too selfish. But my point is it shouldn't have been done in the first place. For these soldiers that went over, no one made them do it. This isn't WW2, they weren't drafted and forced to fight. Was it really necessary to invade Iraq in the first place? Spare me the history and the political discussions surrounding Saddam Hussein for now. I would be glad to sit down and discuss rationally with those of you that disagree with me, but for now, I'm tired of discussing it. If I remember correctly… way back when Bush was trying to defend his decision to invade Iraq, he was accusing Hussein of secretly building a nuclear weapon that was intended to be used on America. Did he find the nuclear weapon? No. Maybe. I don’t know. I’m so bored with the war now. I’ve heard many theories and many reasons of why Bush invaded Iraq, whether it is because of oil/gas resources, a possible nuclear attack, or stopping him from being another “Hitler.” Although we killed him and are working with the new officials of Iraq to rebuild their country, there’s no guarantee that they’ll ever have the peace they need. Even America doesn’t have peace!

Anyway, back to the point… I, myself, could never enlist in the armed forces. Even if I could, I wouldn’t. Maybe I’m not patriotic enough, but right now, I just don’t think America’s worth saving anymore. Look at us. We’re no better than any other human beings in other countries. I do think Americans can be so self-righteous and self-centered. No wonder the French hates us. I had a conversation once with a friend who has been to other parts of the world… some are nice and some are… not so nice. He told me that if I ever went out of America and saw what he saw, I would appreciate America more. Maybe so – but I certainly don’t appreciate the American people.

America has long since been labeled as one of the greatest countries in the world. There are plenty who still think that way. Equality, opportunity, freedom. I disagree. Sure, we have a lot of perks, but we also have the homeless, our economy is suffering right now, and don’t get me started on the crime rates. If there were ever a time in my life that I’ve seen people be so patriotic, it would be in the aftermath of 9/11. Understandably, with something as horrible and shocking as 9/11 was, I would imagine that somehow, just somehow, Americans might be able to just stop hating each other and that we would all unite together and live in harmony. Yeah right.

Here’s some information that I dredged up. In September 2001 alone, 13,752 people were murdered nationally. This doesn’t even involve the 9/11 casualties. This doesn’t involve other horrible crimes. Sad, isn’t it? September had the 4th highest murder rate out of the whole year. October was the 2nd highest. You would think that immediately following the tragedy of the WTC, Americans would be able to get along for once. Stand together and fight together against the country that did this to us. Statistics show that we had our own problems within our country. People are still murdering other people.

What have we come to? Yes, we still have our freedom but to me, freedom doesn't mean much when we can't get along with each other. I have freedom when it comes to religion, speech, etc, but I don't have the freedom to feel safe. My daughter and son doesn't have the freedom to run around in the grass behind my apartment on their own just as I ran around my neighborhood alone. Why? Because people are worse now. More and more people don't even think twice before they kidnap, rape and murder children.

There was once a time I loved celebrating patriotic holidays. Celebrating America gave me a sense of peace and happiness for a day. I was genuinely grateful that I am an American citizen. Whenever a particular song came on the radio, my friends and I would sing along with it. It was one of my favorites - I guess it still is. Now, instead of feeling proud, I feel ashamed, embarassed and disappointed. Back then, the lyrics had meaning. But now… not so much.

Proud to be an AmericanIf tomorrow all the things were gone I’d worked for all my life,
And I had to start again with just my children and my wife.
I’d thank my lucky stars to be living here today,
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American where as least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.

From the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee,
across the plains of Texas, from sea to shining sea,
From Detroit down to Houston and New York to LA,
Well, there’s pride in every American heart, and it’s time to stand and say:

I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.
So when people ask me why I’m not so patriotic or why I’m not too crazy about the war, my reasons should be quite obvious. It's not that I hate America and Americans in general. I would be just as proud to stand up next to you and fight alongside you if we had a commendable country to fight for. It’s because I don’t feel like rooting for the Americans who see fit to hurt and kill fellow Americans. That's not something worth fighting for.