I only noticed it three days ago.
As I was scrolling through my Twitter feed, I saw an odd recurrence. It started small:
These deportations are inhumane and unAmerican. I no longer recognize America. Fascists, racists and bigots are destroying this country with intolerance, greed, division and hate. This is heartbreaking. https://t.co/PMmENedskn
— Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) February 8, 2018
But then multiplied; so much so that I could not ignore it any longer:
This Week:
-The Dow fell 1,175 points
-Trump called Democrats "treasonous"
-Trump asked for military parade
-Rob Porter resigned for domestic abuse
-John Kelly defended Porter
-Trump said "I'd love to see a shutdown"
-The Dow fell 1,033 points
-The government shut down a 2nd time— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) February 9, 2018
The overwhelming consensus? America sucks rights now. A lot. And with scandals, deportations, massacres, discrimination and an overall disregard for the well-being and lives of many Americans becoming the new norm, it is not hard to see why people are outraged. Each headline reads a new tragedy, another reason to hate the situation America is in right now.
Let us rewind to the third grade. You are working on a group project and one of the group members is obviously completing her part wrong. And I’m not talking minor mistakes — she’s not even on the correct topic altogether. The issue is, she’s been acting like this for a while. Always writing misinformation, creating unnecessary messes that take forever to clean up (glitter glue is not for the weak) and costing her classmates the good grade they are all working hard for. Logically, what do you do next? Sit there passively and watch her mess up? Or confront her about her behavior and ask her to change, for the good of all of your group members and herself?
Wanting to develop and improve the country you want to live in should be a celebrated trait, not one that is discouraged. And in order to fix social, political and economic problems, there needs to be a realization that issues exist and an initiative to discuss, not disregard. America’s greatest defense mechanism is the idea of patriotism. Time and time again, critics of the government or traditional systems that define the country are accused of “not being true Americans.” We pride ourselves on being the world leader, the heart of democracy and the land of opportunity so often that any suggestion or disapproval towards the U.S. is immediately taken by some as an attack on the country.
“If you hate America so much, why don’t you just leave?”
I don’t hate America. I don’t like to see America in the painful state of affairs it is in right now. The people who protest and criticize the country also do not hate America. It is actually the exact opposite: I love this country enough to know that it could be so much better. America has the potential to genuinely be a nation that leads the future, not just one that is eternally stuck in unanswered past conflicts. Similarly, patriotism does not mean ignore all the bad aspects of a country and view it only as it is now, but rather understanding that your country has its flaws and working to fix them, because we all want to see the United States thrive. But not as it is currently.
Do not be afraid to point out the shortcomings of our country. Discuss the imperfections, bring to light the injustices, call out the politicians and legislation that are getting away with despicable crimes or inaction. Criticism leads to action, which leads to progress. And that idea is as American as it gets.
