quote:
Originally posted by EbonyRose:
I would say I am
glad to be an American .. but
proud may be pushing it just a little.
America has done some really horrendous things in addition to some of the good it has done. I'm not proud that it has before, and continues today to cause the deaths of innocent people in other parts of the world.
That really sucks.
I would have to say that while I believe that I appreciate the advantages that I have as an American, with ER, I can not say that I am proud to one.
I am not a patriot, and have no aspirations to ever be one. I am not moved by the waving of the flag or the playing of the national anthem. I agonized over signing with Selective Service, finally doing so, but I remember telling my father that if I were called to serve, I would refuse - to which he threatened to disown me.
Indeed, the only America that I would stand up for is America as a potentiality, of what it could be. I will work for this potentiality coming to fruition. In this sense my feelings resonate with Langston Hughes famous poem,
Let America be America Again, for America never was America to me...There's never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free."[/i]
Finally, I do not believe that it is our "freedom loving ways" that people wish to destroy. It may be, however, an American way of life that has been built at the expense of peoples around the globe. Moreover, I would suggest that a cost benefit analysis of the pain and suffering that we have caused by our inordinate demands on the world's resources (natural, agricultural, etc.), the exploitation of populations to produce goods and services to fulfill our greed instead of simply meeting our needs; that what we give back in return is trivial. There are numerous countries around the world that do more with less than we do. An example, you will find Cuban and or Cuban trained doctors in underdeveloped regions around the globe. In terms of medical aid and support, they put America to shame.
So, "do I stand up for America?" I would probably answer no, if you mean the America that is. If you mean the America that could be, I very well might answer "yes".