One Grateful American

Patriotism, it seems to be, is absurdly considered the exclusive domain of conservatives in Kern County. Liberals are slandered as anti-American. Greens are disparaged as anti-human and, therefore, anti-American. Socialists are maligned as anti-everything and, therefore, anti-American. I consider myself a patriotic progressive. I can’t completely agree with every aspect of liberal theory, nor can I wholly commit myself to socialist principles. I believe there are some truths to the conservative tradition, but I don’t buy the belief that capitalism is the best possible system. But beyond political labels, I love this country and I believe in the principles of our Constitution and am willing to die to defend them.
As an American, I have a lot to be thankful for. I live in a nation whose government has survived relatively unchanged for more than two hundred years. We enjoy the luxury of stable government far more keenly than do most other nations, even those with comparatively long-lived governments. I can not imagine experiencing the frequent revolutions of the political system that so many other nations have. Chile. Congo. China. Here in this great land, we’ve seen one Constitution enacted that has only been altered 23 times in 215 years. I have never known the fear of going to sleep one night and waking up the next morning under a completely system of government that may or may not share my belief that I should be exterminated because of my skin color, my political beliefs, my sexual orientation, or simply because someone feels like it. I may not be happy with the way Democrats and Republicans are running things, but I am comfortably secure knowing that I don’t need to be afraid at election time. We may just be getting more of the same, but at least we were warned.
One of the major reasons for the USA’s global strength is her ethnic heritage and diversity. As we have matured as a people, we have diversified. Today, there is not a single nation on this beautiful green planet that can not claim to have her children living in this country. There are Iraqis here right along with Swedes. There are Pakistanis here right along with Australians. There are Somalis here right along with Guatemalans. We are a part of every nation on this planet and we are a living example that people of different religions, histories, perspectives, and dreams can peacefully coexist. Sure, we have our skirmishes and we can still perpetrate great evils against our non-European ethnic minorities, but I don’t think we have the same history of inhuman brutality and malice that has so defined the rest of the world. America can draw on the wisdom, cultures, and traditions of every single one of the world’s great civilizations and be the better for it. Americans have always been forward-looking. If any nation is destined to lead the world into the next stage in human development, we are that nation.
In some countries I could be killed for being gay. At times, in this country, it feels like I will be. But so far, so good. Despite the fact that most of my neighbors think I’m some inhuman monster out to destroy all that is holy and/or American, I enjoy greater freedom to be myself and contribute to the world in the way God intended than every before in our history. I can be gay without being sent to a mental institution. I can be gay without being sent to prison for having a beer with friends at a gay bar. I can put on a dress and look like an ugly woman and not be stoned or whipped. I can challenge the monopoly on understanding God that religious terrorists claim without breaking a nail.
In some countries, I could be killed for not worshipping in the way the government says I should. Here, I am free to explore the diversity of ways that God speaks to humanity. Born into a traditionally Protestant family from the Midwest, Kansans who went to church but didn’t practice, my relationship with God was mediated simply by my every day life in these United States. I can see the living power and the living grace of the Living God here in dirty streets of Bakersfield. Maybe I’m a tainted Romantic who’s read too much Wordsworth, but I see God’s power in the very freedom of religion so imaginatively embedded in our nation’s cultural foundation.
I’m proud to be an American where I love to watch Saturday Night Live where they love to make fun of the guy who controls the world’s most dangerous weapons. I’m proud to be an American where Britney Spears’ boobs become a matter of national discussion. I’m proud to be an American where hot muscley men in tight little tights beat each other senseless with ladders and sledgehammers and call it entertainment and I love it. I’m proud to be an American where I can write a check for pizza. I’m proud to be an American where I can say my elected officials eat ugly dog butt holes and live to see another bright brown Bakersfield sky.