To those who are saying “I am finally proud to be an American” after Obama’s victory last night, you are pathetic and I am calling you all out.
So you weren’t proud to be an American before? What about everyone who has, over the course of our nation’s history, defended our right to vote? Did you not forget the fact that regardless of who is in the Oval Office, you live in the nation with the most freedoms afforded to us in the entire world?
REGARDLESS of who is in the White House, you should be proud of your nation. If you cannot be proud of America during the times in which your candidate does not hold the highest office in the land, you have no reason to be called a true American in the first place.
Isn't it possible to love your country, and yet not be proud of your country and what it has done? Isn't it possible to "finally be proud" of your country after seeing an incredible reversal of the rampant racism that was at the heart of this country for 300+ years and simmering down slowly for the last 50?
When people are subject to slavery and government-sponsored racism and sexism, claiming to be a country with the most freedoms in the entire world doesn't ring true - and seeing a black man elected president is a symbolic culmination of the rise of the country out of that dark period of "Everyone is created equal - except you. And you. Oh, and you over there. Ummm, yeah, all y'all that aren't white, male and rich just aren't as equal as the rest of us."
So sure, we should all be proud and remember those that have fought, struggled and even died to protect our right to vote. But should we simply forget and gloss over all of those that fought so strenuously to deny their fellow citizens' rights? Should we be proud of the ugly side of American history - of racism? of slavery? of the Japanese internment camps? of the Trail of Tears and the rest of our bloody history with Native Americans? of My Lai and Abu Ghraib? And that's just off the top of my head.
There is much in our history as Americans to be ashamed of which could lead us to not be proud of our country. And if you or your family or ancestors were the direct victims? It would be that much harder to be proud of a country that has made your family suffer for centuries while claiming to offer you freedom and equality.
Obama being elected president doesn't have any direct, concrete impact on racism per se, but it sure as heck is a huge indication that we all are indeed roughly equal in opportunity, FINALLY!, to the point that even a black man (or a woman, as Hillary was close in this election cycle as well) can rise to the highest office in the land.
When you say that they're only proud because "their candidate" is in the White House, I think you're missing the point. You seem to think it's a political thing, but it's not. If this were about politics, they wouldn't "finally" be proud - because all of them were alive during the Clinton presidency when "their" candidate was also in the White House. It's about much more than that, and you would see much the same response if Obama had been a Republican instead and still won.
It's about America finally, concretely demonstrating what it has always claimed - that all of us, no matter our background, have a chance in this land to be what we want to be. It may not be easy, and we very well may fail. But seeing Obama elected showed them that even a man from a relatively poor background, from a mixed-race family who was raised by his grandparents, can focus his talents and abilities to reach for the very pinnacle of American power - and make it there. This would not have been possible 30 years ago; it very likely would have been illegal in many states 100 years ago and would have ended in a lynching.
It's this progress that people are finally proud of - that America has stepped up to the promises it made 232 years ago in a way that is wholly undeniable. Are we finished and at the point where all Americans can truly say they are free and equal? Not quite. Lee Greenwood sings, "I'm proud to be an American 'cuz at least I know I'm free", but what if he were gay and wanted to marry the man he loved more than anything? He would no longer know that he was free, because he would find a governmental wall between him and his basic humanity.
Does this mean I'm "finally proud" of America? No, it doesn't. But my ancestors and I also haven't suffered under the burdens of the dark side of America. I've always been proud to be called an American, and what has always made me most proud of America are those that stood up in the face of injustice and said, "This cannot be right" and then struggled to make correct it.
So I have absolutely no problem with people who say they are finally proud to be Americans. I'm not one of them, but I can absolutely empathize and understand why they feel that way. To call them pathetic is to deny the history and circumstances that led them to feel that way.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment