First posted on Mark Is Cranky:
There is so much bad political vibery going on in these United States as of late. Wrangling about Supreme Court decisions, wrangling about the future of Social Security, wrangling about the war on terror, gay marriage, flag burning, Michael Jackson, the stupidity of liberals, the stupidity of conservatives, President Bush's Supreme Court nomination. On and on it goes.
What strikes me as interesting is the idea, held by folks on all sides (left, center, right), that there is only one true way to be an American. Or, more specifically, to be a patriotic American.
What got me to thinking about this was that I was watching the broadcast of the Boston Pops 4th of July celebration on the tube. Folks were clearly having a great time, dancing about, waving the flag, etc. This has never been my way of celebrating the 4th (to be quite truthful, it's not my way of celebrating anything). But...there's nothing wrong with it either.
What is wrong is the sentiment that somehow I'm less of an American because I don't 'love my country' in the 'correct' way. Look folks, it's a big 'ole world out there, with many ways to respond to all of its weird little nooks & crannies. There are very few, if any, one size fits all approaches to life. If you think you've got all the answers, then you're mistaken.
Carla Bley's Looking For America created its own little controversy when released. Some felt that the "National Anthem" suite wasn't properly respectful to the origins of the music. Since it's sort of difficult to extract a composer's intent, let me just say that "OG Can UC?", "Flags", "Whose Broad Stripes", "Anthem" and "Keep It Spangled" seem to look at the music from as many angles are there are citizens. Respectful? That's for you to decide. American? Definitely.
Oh, I spent my 4th of July doing what I feel is very important...hanging out in the garage with my dad. Together we built a nice wood storage loft above the oil tank. It felt great.
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