After living through eight years of "W" bumper stickers, you would think that no bumper sticker could bother me at all....but that was not the case during my recent vacation.
I was on vacation in Maine (I'm from Connecticut). My car still has the Obama 08 bumper stickers on it. While I was in a store shopping, someone put one of those "Proud to be an American" (with flag) stickers on my car over the Obama sign.
I was really angry and was about to scrape it off, when I stopped, and asked myself, "Why does it bother me so much?" Of course, I know the reason. I would like to be the one who choses which signs I display (or don't) on my car. I was in a very red part of the state - did the person believe that if I voted for Obama I was not proud to be an American, and I needed to be shamed into becoming proud? Did they think the bumper sticker would magically convert me?
Anyway, I decided to leave it. Frankly, I was raised to respect the flag and I felt that it was wrong to scrape off the Stars and Bars off.
I realized that it was not a bad slogan at all, and I left it on.
But still, isn't it sad that the phrase, "Proud to be an American" would inspire any bad feelings? Isn't is it a shame (that awful Lee Greenwood song notwithstanding) that some folks believe that if you don't think like they think or vote for who they vote for you are not proud to be an American??