I love my country. A lot. I grew up spending most weekends visiting various historic sites in Virginia and Maryland, learning history at the source, standing on the ground where things happened. I've been in all but about 12 of the states at one time or another during my life, and have seen first hand how blessed we are in this country to have the variety of climate and habitat and bounty that have allowed all of our agriculture and industry to thrive.
I love my country. I love it like family...the way you can look at your sibling and see all of their warts and faults and annoyances at the same time you see their beauty and uniqueness. You see, America is not perfect, but I love it. Deeply. It was started as a step in the right direction. It started because of the idea that all human beings deserve liberty and the right to have a say in how they are governed. That all ideas are worth hearing, and that no one should be punished for their opinions, for speaking their minds or worshipping their gods. It started from the idea that no king, no lord, no government should tell its citizens what to think or believe. That the liberty of the mind and soul was a right of being born human.
But because we are humans with all the faults and weaknesses of humans, America struggles to realize that promise from which it was started. Right now, there are people who have said in public that those who disagree with their party's point of view do not deserve to live. These same people call themselves "real" Americans and patriots. Really? They would deny me my right to speak, my right to LIVE, because I disagree...there is NOTHING more un-American that that. Nothing. It is the fundamental idea and root of what we're supposed to be about.
I love my country. I know my history. I know and understand that the original Tea Party in Boston was about protesting the Tea Tax, a tax levied upon the colonists of America without granting those people representation in Parliament. The current co-opting of that term to protest the outcome of legally held elections and the decisions of those representatives by the fairly represented citizenry shows monumental ignorance on the part of those citizens. To those people, I would say: stop getting your "history" from inflammatory political entertainers and educate yourselves. Take part in the processes of our government in a constructive way. Stop screaming about your rights in the absence of taking any responsibility. And if you're gonig to call yourself "patriot", learn the truth about what America is really about.
I love my country. I love it like family...the way you can look at your sibling and see all of their warts and faults and annoyances at the same time you see their beauty and uniqueness. You see, America is not perfect, but I love it. Deeply. It was started as a step in the right direction. It started because of the idea that all human beings deserve liberty and the right to have a say in how they are governed. That all ideas are worth hearing, and that no one should be punished for their opinions, for speaking their minds or worshipping their gods. It started from the idea that no king, no lord, no government should tell its citizens what to think or believe. That the liberty of the mind and soul was a right of being born human.
But because we are humans with all the faults and weaknesses of humans, America struggles to realize that promise from which it was started. Right now, there are people who have said in public that those who disagree with their party's point of view do not deserve to live. These same people call themselves "real" Americans and patriots. Really? They would deny me my right to speak, my right to LIVE, because I disagree...there is NOTHING more un-American that that. Nothing. It is the fundamental idea and root of what we're supposed to be about.
I love my country. I know my history. I know and understand that the original Tea Party in Boston was about protesting the Tea Tax, a tax levied upon the colonists of America without granting those people representation in Parliament. The current co-opting of that term to protest the outcome of legally held elections and the decisions of those representatives by the fairly represented citizenry shows monumental ignorance on the part of those citizens. To those people, I would say: stop getting your "history" from inflammatory political entertainers and educate yourselves. Take part in the processes of our government in a constructive way. Stop screaming about your rights in the absence of taking any responsibility. And if you're gonig to call yourself "patriot", learn the truth about what America is really about.
No comments:
Post a Comment