The other night my younger brother got very pissed at me for not being proud to be an American (yes, even with Obama as our president, much as I love that guy). I miss that kid when we was 19 and very anti-The Man/The Machine/The Establishment. Even if his rants were mostly faux jadedness (great phrase from Daria) at least he was skeptical, questioning and searching. It was pretty easy to quiet his faux pride when I asked him how I could be proud when The United States is the largest illegal drug market in the world, has the most gun deaths and teen pregnancies of an industrialized nation, and the highest amounts of diseases in areas like cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Oh also, our education levels are incredibly dismal and some of the lowest of industrial nations. I'm proud we elected a leader that might help turn some of this around over a looooong period of time. I am NOT proud of where our 200 Year legacy has gotten us. Sometimes I have to say, I'm sad I was born in a country like America.
No comments:
Post a Comment