The Good American

So somehow they convinced a big part of this country that you need to own a gun, go to church, fly the American flag, be militaristic, and believe America is the greatest country that ever existed in the Universe in order to be a good American. If you don't own a gun and think we'd be safer without them, you're an accomplice of a scheming government that tries to destroy America; if you don't go to church because you believe in Shiva, Mickey Mouse or Nietzsche, or just want to pray at home, then you lack the core values of a Good American; if you don't fly the flag because it doesn't represent for you the same thing it does for other people, it means you don't like your country; if you don't want to sing the national anthem because you find it militaristic or it reminds you of anything negative, then you should be fired; if you're antimilitaristic because you think for the most part the military only wastes human lives to serve political agendas, you're a traitor; if you think foreign doesn't mean inferior, and that all countries are great in their own respect, then they tell you you should get out of the US and "go live in North Korea" (I don't why they almost always say "North Korea").

I think they forget what freedom really is, a word they keep repeating yet to describe their beloved country--isn't freedom having the right to hold and express opinions different than theirs without being called a traitor, a son of a bitch, a bigot, or a deplorable?

I read recently that "freedom of speech doesn't shield you from the consequences of your opinions."

Freedom 101, people: freedom is not only to have the right to say something; it's to be allowed to say it without the fear of being persecuted for your opinions. You have the right to say what you want in North Korea, too. You just might be shot afterwards, that's all. The difference is there--consequences of free speech.

You see, I believe what makes America a great country to live in is that we are all so different yet we all live together in peace. There is a lot of racism and hate and intolerance, injustice, privileges and violence; we are working on it and there is a lot of work to do, but I also found an incredible amount of love and respect for differences, much more than in many countries I visited. And it is when people of all backgrounds, races, opinions, sexual orientations come together, live together, and learn from each other in peace and tolerance, that I feel proud to be here.

I don't stand up with a tear in my eyes when they play the national anthem. I find the words awkward and violent, and the music isn't even American anyway. But I do shed a tear when I witness so many different people being kind, or just civil to each other--those very people who, not so long ago, would have killed each other, enslaved each other, or colonized each other.