Do I consider myself patriotic? Well, let’s define patriotism first I suppose. I see patriotism as having a love of one’s country, native country, adopted country, or you can even be patriotic to a region. I happen to live in the Pacific Northwest part of the US. I am a Washingtonian. Do I agree with everything my state does? Or everything the US does? No.
As an individual I have personal opinions, and ideas of what is good and what is not. I don’t neatly align with any political party. Even if I could be put into one bin per se, would I agree with an agenda wholeheartedly? I highly doubt it. I am a bit of a cynic, and I am also a bit contrarian. So, I don’t and won’t fit neatly into a category, and I am more than okay with that.
If something terrible, like a sept. 11th incident were to happen right now in my country, I would be very upset and distraught. If my state were to slide into the ocean tomorrow, I would be very upset and obviously troubled by it. Do I love the US? I do like the idea. As a reality, it falls short, but the possibility and promise are there. I don’t wish I was born elsewhere, there isn’t another country where I would rather be from. I don’t have any desire to be Canadian, although I met someone in the past whose dream was that, it isn’t mine.
Do I love my country? Sometimes. I love what it stands for, I love the idea of the American Dream, I love the idea of the possibilities. Intellectual freedom, the ability if you try hard enough if you do enough, you can get where you want to be. Is the dream real, though? I am not naive to think it is the same for everyone.
If English isn’t your native tongue, or if you grow up in an impoverished or educationally dismal area, the dream is a bit harder to obtain. Not impossible, but difficult. Some are born with a leg up and don’t have to work as hard. The US, much like life, isn’t fair, and not everyone has an equal opportunity. For those with what is oftentimes called grit or fortitude, it is there. You do have to want it, you do have to work hard for it.
I want to believe it is still possible to achieve, but I think everyday it gets harder and harder. The disparity between those with money gets wider and farther, and the bigger the gap the more of a dream the American Dream becomes. I know this is happening around the world, not just in the US.
But the US is a country that has always promised a chance to succeed where one could go to start over or start again. So, it is especially sad to see this country get so divided.
Am I patriotic? I guess I am, I am in love with the dream, the promise of the US. Am I in love with the reality? I want to be, somedays I believe more than others.
It is like an old crush you once thought you couldn’t live without, but now you are okay. You wonder what happened to them, if they are happy with their life, if they did anything momentous or important?
If they didn’t, are they happy anyway, did they find their true love, or some passion worth living and fighting for? I guess a more accurate answer to a complicated question is, sometimes. I am sometimes patriotic. Sometimes I wish things were different, sometimes I wish we could rediscover a middle ground where politics weren’t such a toxic subject matter.
The Infamous Jennisfora Strikes Again...or something like that 