As far a having something against the United States? I am an American. I love this country and its people (whether they love me and mine or not). However...
After all this time, I think I have finally figured it out. I guess I can be slow sometimes, but I have just had an “ah ha!” moment. America is a land where there are very few of its citizen that are ancestrally native to its borders. Because of this, there is really no such thing as an American culture. It can’t be, unless you take an eclectic amount of cultural practices and combine them in one bag and say, “This is America!”
But even that can’t be done, because no one can come together and agree on which of the world practices are the best ones to make “our” own. It’s understandable, given that Americans come from all over the globe. Everyone knows this already. What I have finally figured out, though, is what the problem is. No matter where we go, there is always one particular group trying to force its beliefs and practices on the rest of us, or trying to keep certain groups of us from joining in. It’s all very confusing.
There is religion, where people believe in all sorts of higher powers, from God to Allah to Yahweh to Jehovah to the I AM presence to the Source to the Creator, etc., and everyone is telling you that their choice should be your choice. There are religions such as Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, and Hinduism. Within Christianity, there are Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Roman Catholics, Orthodox Catholics, Protestants, Non-Denomination Christians, and Mormons. So many choices…
Then there is the relationship factor: straight, gay, bisexual, lesbian, racial, interracial, married, companionship, single parenting, etc.
There is also a class structure in America, which at one point in our recent history included the upper upper class, the upper class, the lower upper class, the upper middle class, the middle class, the lower middle class, the lower class and the underclass. Now there’s just an upper class, middle class, lower class, and underclass, and although the middle class is quickly dissipating, there is still a class where we all fit in. For some reason, there are those who feel that this class system is also a matter of choice.
Regardless of that, there is the issue of race. There is a racial “majority” and a racial “minority” and with each moniker comes certain fixed labels. For the majority: all American; the girl/boy next door; America’s sweetheart; wholesome, etc. For the minority: exotic; the 47%; people who want free stuff, but who don’t want to work; lazy; hoodlums; thugs, etc. I guess when it comes down to it, to a certain extent, ethnicity can be chosen with the sexual mixing of ethnic people, so okay, another choice.
What concerns me though, is not the choices we select, because I believe that it’s a great thing to be able to individualize one’s life in a nonviolent, personal manner. The right to choose is what makes us free, and having a host of options to select from can only make us more interesting as people. But what is of consequence to me is the persecution of those who either don’t or can’t choose the way the majority would like.
I keep hearing about this argument concerning church and state. I don’t see what the big deal is. It’s a common sense issue. If we have so many religious beliefs as Americans, why are we trying to force one particular belief on the rest? What about God in school? Okay, which God? If we pick one, that’s not going to make everyone else happy, and if you say, “to hell with everyone else,” aren’t you stepping on the freedoms afforded to all American citizen by the First Amendment?
And if we take away every American’s right to love, date, sleep with, marry, etc., whomever they like, or suffer the threat of discriminating persecution, wouldn’t we be treading on their right to, “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” as defined by the Declaration of Independence?
The list goes on. But this is in fact what’s happening. At the same time, most of those same Americans who are so passionate about taking those rights and freedoms from other Americans are just as passionate about trying to maintain their own right to bear arms. Their Constitutional right… But if we were all thinking straight, we would see that one group of freedoms regard human rights, while the other freedom regards taking human life. Hmmm…
I know, I know; guns don’t take lives, people do. And I also know that there are many who have murdered who have never used a gun to do so, but we have to start somewhere don’t we? Especially since everyone who mass murders these days is usually some mentally ill nobody who takes his/her own life after dealing a devastating blow to those of us in society left to grieve for our loved ones and losses. And suicide murderers can't be held accountable if they're dead, now can they?
But this isn’t (wholly) about gun control, religion, class, race, and/or sexuality. It’s about the rights and freedoms we have as Americans. What my “ah ha!” moment was, was the realization that there are forces in America that want to dominate the people in such a way as to hold to old patters of American society that no longer work. They are old fashion, outdated, and tired.
I’m, personally, not part of the white, Christian, male, power structure that wants to maintain hierarchical supremacy of all forms of life in this great nation. Supposedly, America was built for the purpose of free enterprise, and later morphed into a great melting pot, a nation of many nations, where its people would be free to pursue life at its greatest level. This is a nation whose majority left lands from which they were subject to tyranny. They have now been on this land, from where they have reined fear, tyranny and terror on its minority citizens for centuries. It’s time for this reign to end.
On a related note, if you have time, I would like to share this with you. A respondent to one of my previous blogs stated:
“Either you are a troll, which I am beginning to suspect, or one of the more ignorant people to show up here in a while.
Look Will, my family came here fleeing the Armenian holocaust on one side and the rise of fascism on the other. I celebrate the birthday of this nation proudly and independent of my politics.
You seem to have a real issue with this country.”
My response was:
“As far a having something against the United States? I am an American. I love this country and its people (whether they love me and mine or not). However, just because you love something doesn't mean you love everything. I do not love the racism, the sexism, the anti-human rights groups, the separation and segregation of groups of people by race, sexuality, religion, and/or class, the lack of education, and the Eurocentric view of the world by the corporate forces that run our media. No, I don't like that aspect of our country very much, so I figured, since I have a voice and the right to express myself (which is one of the many reasons why I love this country), I might as well discuss it. Having said that, there will be those who agree with me and those who do not. But the fact that we can have an argument (which is nothing more than a debate over a difference of opinions) is one of the greatest rights that this country allows - the freedom of expression. Still, even after the implementation of those rights afforded by the US Constitution and Bill of Rights, all American Citizens couldn't benefit from them. As an educated person, you have to know that. Thanks for allowing me the means to state this.”
My fellow citizens, in a few days it will be December 21, 2012. It’s the Winter Solstice, as well as the day predicted by the Maya calendar as a day of mass destruction. My personal belief is that we have nothing to worry about, but you never know. But just in case we wake up on December 22nd and all is well, let’s not take our blessings for granted. Let’s open our hearts to one another by realizing that in order for America to increase its greatness, we will have to finally embrace our diversity as a people. It is in that diversity that we will truly find an American culture and that will be what we are famous for. Not our sense of luxury, our desire to dominate the world, or our arrogance; but we will be known for our unbelievable tolerance for each other. See you on the other side.