This is one of the few 4ths of July where Ive been in a different country. I miss my family and the cookouts and the beaches of Maine, but theres something interesting Ive learned in the month Ive been away. I take pride in my New England American roots because my family is amazing and my culture produces from pretty awesome things. Our art, music, and theater is some of the most vibrant in the world and I maintain that our country is - despite its economic shenanigans - experiencing a thrilling cultural renaissance. However, I remain hopeful that we can do better. School shootings, bogus SCOTUS decisions, and general ignorance seem to be an all too pervasive stereotype for my homeland. So am I proud to be an American? Not really. Im grateful, because it could be worse. A LOT worse. Im a privileged white American woman and that has made my life pretty comfy. But until I can officially remove some of the adjectives from the above sentence, pride is not something I will attach to my nationality. Happy America Day. Lets keep improving. Were far from the worst, but were also far from the best.
Posted on: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 15:20:09 +0000
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