The most basic things seem to go ignored. But tonight, I had a patriotic epiphany...
I am proud to be an American.
When I see that written on bumper stickers or signs within a country convenience store window, I usually laugh and I wonder what country music album is playing inside the truck. And I come home and watch the Network News (to keep up with what "the other half" knows in respect to what actually happened that day).
Our country has many problems- people cannot find jobs, there is violence everywhere, the media plays a role that in itself requires a book to cover... and the majority of people are ignorant to these specific problems. All they need to know is they need to find $100 by Friday so they can get their daughter a Prom dress. They don't care about Bush using 9/11 for his ads. They don't care if Kerry once sat maybe 4 rows from Jane Fonda. They just want to make it to the next week, and live a decent life. Politics doesn't matter to them- "Nothing really changes, anyway."
There is an extremely large battle to fight- against Corporate Culture, against unseemly wars, against the entire "more for me, but I deserve it because I'm special" mentality that has taken over. The hard part is knowing where to start. If I repeat something enough, will that make it true?
I read the Constitution tonight. I had to answer a question about the Supreme Court for someone, and that's where I ended up, realizing I hadn't read it since 10th grade civics class- and then I was only studying for a quiz.
It's amazing, really. To think that at one time there was a group of men that had to sit down and write a document to form a nation of hundreds/thousands. And today we abide by the same things but for millions/billions, in different eras and political and cultural climates, with cell phones and laptops.
I read the Constitution, and I got angry. George Bush claimed today in Bakersfield that the Democrats are full of "angry partisan politics".. and after reading the Founding Document, I agree. I am angry. I am livid, even, that he takes advantage of it, and fails to see the amazing things that we have done as a nation. We have made the nation more equal for everyone- I am a 24 year old unmarried woman, and I am not having to wash anyone's laundry or pick anyone's grapes. Unfortunately, there are other people who do. We do still have a way to go- but I do have faith that we will continue to evolve and assure all of our citizens that we are All Created Equal. We have grown and changed, evolved to involve even more people. 200+ years for anything to remain relevant is amazing. And I am angry at Bush, for taking advantage of people who are willing to die for my- for your country, for blatantly taking advantage of his office for the needs of his friends, and for avoiding the millions of people who are just trying to make it until Friday.
So I'm embracing my anger, and I will make it productive. I will not see this man in office come next year. Americans can be greedy and short sighted, but people will wise up. As my grandpa used to say- "Fool me once, shame on you- fool me twice, shame on me."
That should be Kerry's slogan.
Everyone, go to Archives.org and read the Constitution. We have knowledge and an amazing amount of information at our fingertips at our disposal that the Founding Fathers never did- so let's use it. So often the Founding Document gets used by the Right Wing to show fundamentalist viewpoints, but to me that isn't true- instead it shows how far we've come, and how principles can adapt on the changing times. And it makes me proud to be an American, and all the more upset about how George W Bush, 43rd President of these United States, has shifted the nation and the political climate to make me think I was ashamed. I don't want to have to pretend I'm Canadian when I go to Europe.
Take Our Country Back- `04.