So, with the big 4th of July weekend fast approaching, I’ve been thinking about the phrase ‘proud to be an American,’ and what it means. It seems to me people use it in the same way they would say ‘God Bless the U.S.A.’ or, ‘America, love it or leave it.’ It has a very jingoistic ring to it.
What is it to be proud of anything? If one accomplishes some feat of strength or passes a difficult test, it seems reasonable to be proud of that. If one makes a decision and sticks by her principles, again, a certain amount of pride (not smugness) is expected. I can think of a dozen circumstances where pride would apply, but they all have something to do with an active decision on the part of the person to do, or not do something. Since, I believe, one has no choice concerning where they were born, the ‘natural born American’ really can’t take pride in being an American. A naturalized immigrant has more use for the phrase ‘proud to be…’ because they made a decision to do something and probably went through a lot of bullshit and hardship to realize their dream of being an American citizen. The rest of us just got lucky.
That being the case, most of us, come this 4th of July should express gratitude for being born here. You see, this is not some anti-government rant. I truly believe this is the greatest nation in the world. There are some countries (where each one of us could have been born) where one cannot say something negative about their leadership without worrying about being taken away in the middle of the night. But I can say, “President Bush is a moron,” right here in front of god and everybody, without that fear (at least I hope I’m still right about that).
I hear a lot about being ashamed of being an American right now. Now there is statement I can at least sympathize with. It is very possible to be embarrassed or shamed based on the decisions and actions of others. Don’t agree with me? Remember that time, at that party (its happened to all of us); your significant other said something really stupid? You were embarrassed weren’t you? Or maybe they told a horribly inappropriate joke that made you give them the silent treatment the rest of the night.
All this to say, things have happened, in our name, at the behest of our leadership that shames me. However, that won’t stop me from flying the ‘stars and stripes’ on the weekend. I will proudly proclaim my gratefulness for being born in a country where I can say I’m ashamed to be an American.
Thus endeth the rant…..
What is it to be proud of anything? If one accomplishes some feat of strength or passes a difficult test, it seems reasonable to be proud of that. If one makes a decision and sticks by her principles, again, a certain amount of pride (not smugness) is expected. I can think of a dozen circumstances where pride would apply, but they all have something to do with an active decision on the part of the person to do, or not do something. Since, I believe, one has no choice concerning where they were born, the ‘natural born American’ really can’t take pride in being an American. A naturalized immigrant has more use for the phrase ‘proud to be…’ because they made a decision to do something and probably went through a lot of bullshit and hardship to realize their dream of being an American citizen. The rest of us just got lucky.
That being the case, most of us, come this 4th of July should express gratitude for being born here. You see, this is not some anti-government rant. I truly believe this is the greatest nation in the world. There are some countries (where each one of us could have been born) where one cannot say something negative about their leadership without worrying about being taken away in the middle of the night. But I can say, “President Bush is a moron,” right here in front of god and everybody, without that fear (at least I hope I’m still right about that).
I hear a lot about being ashamed of being an American right now. Now there is statement I can at least sympathize with. It is very possible to be embarrassed or shamed based on the decisions and actions of others. Don’t agree with me? Remember that time, at that party (its happened to all of us); your significant other said something really stupid? You were embarrassed weren’t you? Or maybe they told a horribly inappropriate joke that made you give them the silent treatment the rest of the night.
All this to say, things have happened, in our name, at the behest of our leadership that shames me. However, that won’t stop me from flying the ‘stars and stripes’ on the weekend. I will proudly proclaim my gratefulness for being born in a country where I can say I’m ashamed to be an American.
Thus endeth the rant…..
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