PunkAssBlog.com

I’m lucky to be an American.

Whatever freedoms we’ve recently lost have never been known by most people in the world. Those qualities/beliefs/experiences for which so many Americans still face discrimination might be grounds for execution elsewhere. We have access to mountains of stuff. We are fortunate to be writing, reading, and commenting at these computers, wherever we are, and I (almost) never forget it.

But I’m not proud to be an American.

What’s so great about nationalist pride, anyway? Why is it often implied that I should worship and adore America without qualification lest I be branded a villain? This kind of zeal is no better than fundamentalist zeal; it obstructs critical thinking in all the same dangerous ways.

From the earliest age, we teach children that America is the land of freedom and opportunity, pure and untainted. Teachers present the US as the world’s enlightened protagonist. Other than brief coverage of slavery and the conditions leading up to the civil rights movement — which are treated as bizarre exceptions to the American rule — US kids gain little or no access to some of our ugly mistakes. Instead, even through high school, they are force-fed the myths that our checks always balance, our intentions are always just, and we always make room for the little guy.

It’s no wonder, then, that so many Americans patently refuse to accept we are capable of wrongdoing. Believing that the US has a painful history of fallibility can be as hard as accepting there might not be the Jesus you were always told was in your heart. Many folks won’t even entertain the discussion.

Our denial is killing our democracy.

We stuck our fingers in our ears about Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004. As a result, Ken Blackwell will get away with the same crimes this year.

Should we be shocked that Diebold machines will be used again this fall and almost certainly in 2008, even though a Johns Hopkins comp sci professor has analyzed the software and believes it can be rigged to favor one candidate over another? Not at all; when the Diebold CEO said before the 2004 election “I am committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president,” he was practically taunting Americans over their ignorance.

Of course, historically, several elections in this country have been fraudulent. But do most Americans know this? If they were presented the data, would they believe it? Nah. We’re the heroes of democratic freedom. That kind of crime happens elsewhere.

We’ve been backhanded across the face by overwhelming evidence of electoral fraud at the highest levels, and the country treats it like a delicate breeze. Consequently, it will happen again. And I cannot bring myself to be proud of it.

Our denial is killing other people.

John Jay said in Federalist No. 4:

But the safety of the people of America against dangers from foreign force depends not only on their forbearing to give just causes of war to other nations, but also on their placing and continuing themselves in such a situation as not to invite hostility or insult; for it need not be observed that there are pretended as well as just causes of war.

We have engaged ourselves in unjust war for reasons that have been proven to be pretended. We threaten Iran and North Korea with more. And while most Americans have now turned on the President for the handling of Iraq, those same people were frightenly easy to sway into supporting evil. Today the NYT implies an apology for buying in with the rest of the lot. This does not excuse their ignorance over our own history.

While we haven’t undertaken anything of Iraqi proportions in our past, a little research into American occupation of the Phillipines, or the half-dozen times we meddled in Nicaragua over the last century (including a 20-year occupation and the Contra affair we’ve already forgotten), or our ghastly coup d’etat in Guatemala might have suggested that we don’t always do the right thing abroad. Healthy suspicion and skepticism should be the calling cards of every media member. Instead, we have a fourth estate of chest-thumping patriots who still believe we are a righteous force of democracy. Maybe that’s because they’re just as brainwashed as the rest of America, or maybe that’s because they know that’s their target demographic. Either way, I cannot bring myself to be proud of it.

John Jay was right about our safety being dependent on just causes for war. By taking foreign lands for selfish reasons, we will create far more terrorism then we stop. Without just cause, we are the trespassers, and there will be many who seek retribution for our misdeeds. Our denial got us into this mess, and it’ll be responsible for future deaths abroad and at home.

We pretend not to listen when the world and its scientists tell us we are responsible for global warming. We ignore the very real need for a revamped national health care system because it’s supposedly unamerican to hand out help for free. We let companies take the freedom of the internet away from us because we’re told it’s all part of the game of American economics and politics. And we let our government spy, torture, and kill unfairly because our citizens refuse to look down at our bloody hands.

To me, pride is a response to something or someone reaching its potential, or at least trying to do so the right way. And, unfortunately, as good as it is to be an American, we have a long way to go to reach our summit. Lately, we’ve been trying to get there by moonwalking blindfolded.

Pardon me if I hide my sparkly-gloved hand in shame.