better late than never
RE: My patriotism
The good feelings I feel for America always seem to be tinged by the bad. I love the variety and beauty of the land and the ingenuity and beauty of the people. Where else could my baby cousin, a "racial" mixture of Mexican, black, French, Irish, and native American, grow surrounded by people who love him, not hated for some aspect of "race." I love the fact that my Irish ancestors came here and were able to live more freely than in Ireland. But I hate the fact that those same Irish ancestors were labeled with the never-ending labels given to immigrants (lazy, have too many children, dirty, stingy, uneducated, etc.) and I hate the fact that my Navaho ancestors were driven like cattle onto government designated lands. I hate the fact that this "democracy" was built on the backs of slaves, on the lands of slaughtered natives, and continues to rise on the backs of the poor and enslaved in other countries.
RE: The British
Thor,
The US learned its colonizing ways and arrogance from the British Empire. No matter how rebellious those original colonists were, they were still British, and those British colonists are the ones who set up most of the standards (good and bad) for this country. Oh yeah, the British "gave" back Ireland and India, only after a few revolts and massacres, and only after infecting the natives with the British sense of superiority (white/English-speaking=good, brown/non-English-speaking=bad). Oh wait, isn't part of Ireland still part of the British empire.... Americans must accept responsiblity (i.e. use the guilt they feel to find ways for exploitation to stop) for their exploitation of others and the human results of that exploitation, just as the British should take responsibility for their past exploitation of conquered peoples. (Exploitation, I might add, which the British are still reaping the benefits--and curses--of.)
RE: Burning the Flag
Why is burning a flag any worse than flying it from the side of your car until it is torn into tatters or thrown about in the dirty street and run over by the wheels of other cars? I find that much more unpatriotic than burning the flag...using a patriotic symbol as some plastic logo for pseudo-patriotism. I was so pissed off at all the stupid little flags flying on people's cars after 9/11 because I thought "I wonder how many of these people even voted in the last election." The US flag is no longer a symbol of freedom (except for perhaps the freedom to be "consumers" instead of "citizens"), it is a symbol, for much of the world, anyway, of colonialism and rampant greed. When I was little I believed what they told me. I adored Betsy Ross. I even wanted to make a dress out of a flag, until my mother introduced me to the wonderful world of politics by saying that by doing that I would be dishonoring the flag (like that 'hippy' Abbie Hoffman did by wearing his flag shirt). The flag has become a soiled symbol in too short a time.
Joeman:
"As long as the foreign policy of the politicians work for American's best interest, they should be supported 100%. Always. Questioning their effort would be unpatriotic."
Questioning their effort would be a part of the democratic process, a process we have all but forgotten. This is where my patriotism/idealism really comes in: I believe the Revolution was fought not to make America wealthier, but to create that great experiment of democracy that all the world waited with bated breath to see the outcome (bad paraphrase of Tocqueville). I hate to say it, but from where I sit (hick-USA, and listening/reading comments like those from Joeman) the experiment has failed.
XEV "when you are in power, everyone hates you."
When you use your power as a bully, that is when everyone hates you.
"I am too, and from what I've observed, its more of a request to God than a statement "God blesses America". "
Where I live (Bakersfield--Buck Owen's country) I feel like they are somehow giving an order "God BLESS america."