Don't Blow This Off As Just Another Liberal Rant
I never thought the day would come that I would say this, and trust me, I do not say it lightly, it is not a rhetorical device: I am ashamed of my country. I’m not embarrassed. Embarrassed is what you are when you inadvertently say the wrong thing or pass gas in public. Ashamed is what you are when you or something with which you are intimately connected (like your country) have done something truly immoral.
I told my friend, I wish that he and that all my blog readers could have known me before this past election. I’ve always been politically aware and politically passionate. I was that way even in high school. But I’ve also always been able to see both sides. I’m not a black-and-white thinker; never have been. And furthermore, say what you want, but I am very patriotic. I mist up when I sing “The Star Spangled Banner.” I treat the flag with respect. I know and faithfully follow flag etiquette. I teach “The Declaration of Independence” every year and feel incredible pride at what our nation and its founders have accomplished worldwide.
And I am ashamed of what we have become. I don’t feel nearly as betrayed by Bush as I do by those who voted for him in 2004. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, he is who is. He didn’t make one promise in 2004 that he didn’t keep. He promised to keep on doing what we all knew he did: lie, treat human life with contempt, bungle critically important things without remorse and without learning a damned thing from his mistakes. What breaks my heart, honestly makes it hurt inside my chest, is that around half my countrymen put him into office knowing this about him. They didn’t care.
Now, there are some I’ve talked to who have owned up to the fact that, yes, they should have seen this. They, too, are heartsick. They have the courage to accept responsibility—no whining about how they were “misled.” No one was misled by 2004. The lies had been exposed. The truth was clear. I can forgive the people who have taken responsibility. I feel like they’ve learned something, and I can trust them again. But when I see people still defending that man or insisting that they couldn’t possibly have foreseen what a disaster it would be to reelect him—what can I say? There is such a breach of trust.
I don’t hate these people. I can still hang onto the idea of “inherent worth and dignity” that I hold sacred. You know how it is. When someone you love (and I do love my countrymen) hurts you, truly hurts you, you can go on loving them, maybe even trust them again, someday, but it’s there. You just can’t undo a violation like this.
Sorry if I’m being redundant.
I agree with you wholeheartedly about being ashamed. I'm not ashamed of my
country as much as I am ashamed of what our system of government has
become. Our country has had a rich history of leadership and innovation,
creation and invention.
Honey and I hate Bush as much as anyone. So I'm not making light when I say
. . How could people not have seen the total screwing we would be getting
having Bush and Dick in charge of things? Honey wishes Bush would have
been Dick's hunting partner. I'm a live and let live person so that's a
little out of my thinking box.
Hard to be brief about this, isn't it? I feel sorry for Steve, the man I
sent the letter to that sent me down this road today. It was far more than
he was expecting, I'm sure.
I just took a book out of the library that addresses this, "Fooled
Again--How the Right Stole the 2004 Election and While They'll Steal the
Next One Too (Unless We Stop Them)". Sounds interesting.
I have to add a comment to Mike, now that I've thought a while. We live in
a democracy. Our government is what it is because we've allowed it to
become that. Until we take responsibility, it won't change.
I notice they don't play "Proud to be an American" much anymore on the
radio. I am feeling the shame for our country as well as feeling appalled
by the actions our leadership has taken. Oh and Paula, you never write
shallow and stupid entries! Strike that notion from your head this very
instant!
I think the problem is ultimatetly systemic. With our 2-party system, it's
very hard for "the people" to make the changes that they're theoretically
responsible for. We've got a system that's very well entrenched and
difficult for the people to change, particularly as other forces in our
culture help keep us distracted. Because of our two-party system, all Bush
had to do was cast enough doubt on Kerry to make it seem doubtful whether,
even with his own gross incompetence, he might not actually be better than
the alternative.
(which needed only the thinnest of veneers to stick with their horse)
I hear you, sister. A lot of people feel the same way. I'm usually not the
optimist, but I think it's coming to an end for the Bush administration.
Polls now show support for Bush at 29%. I read that some right-wing radio
talk show host apologized on the air for voting for Bush. Even Ann Coulter
got busted for voter fraud. It took 6 years, but people are finally
snapping out of their brainwashed haze and seeing the truth.