Blog it July Day #4
What makes you proud to be an American?
The United States is not a perfect country. Far from it. I do not always like the decisions our national leaders make. I do not enjoy looking at statistics on education and seeing the USA near the bottom of the global rankings. I do not enjoy being part of a depressing statistic on American health.
And yet...
This country is built on values that I believe in. Our national documents emphasize the importance of equality, the need for separation of church and state, and, most crucially, the inevitability of change. We don't always do a good job of upholding these values. In fact, I would argue that there has never been a time when all of these values were successfully upheld. Most founding fathers held slaves, even as they penned these ideals, and many inequalities remain today, among all varieties of population groups. But the ideals are there, even when we stray, guiding this nation to a better place. I really believe that we are slowly - oh so slowly - moving toward it.
And, along the way, I sure am glad to be American. I'm so grateful to feel safe most of the time. I'm so grateful to have the right to peaceably protest. I'm so grateful not to be persecuted for my religious identity, or forced into beliefs I don't share. Even though I am basically a pacifist, I'm so grateful that our military has kept war out of my life. I know I did nothing to earn any of this. These are simply the privileges of being American.
Yes, I am very, very thankful to be a citizen of this country. I'm not sure, though, if the reasons I've given are also reasons to be proud.
There are people who suffer in this country. I think it's important to acknowledge that. Poverty and hunger and human trafficking are not just "third world problems." They are also American problems. I have spent the past eleven months as an AmeriCorps VISTA, surrounded by people of my generation who are working full time for well below minimum wage, because they want to serve this country. They want to move this nation closer to the ideals set down in our founding documents. I have watched them work so hard this year, have watched people create change despite truly difficult circumstances, and I have smiled at the way these idealist support each other in their work.
I am profoundly grateful to live a life of American privilege, but that doesn't make me proud - at times, it makes me ashamed. No, what truly makes me proud to be American is the tireless work of so many people to help this nation live up to the potential of its rhetoric.
If you have a moment amid your celebrating, watch this clip from HBO's The Newsroom:
Happy Fourth of July.
P.S. My opinion does not reflect the opinion of AmeriCorps, VISTA, or any other affiliate
YES!!! I love that scene!
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