I am an American citizen. For many years, I was ashamed of that without knowing why. I only knew that this shame was something I seemed to pick up around me. Whether I filtered from family's political views or my region's, probably true, all I thought was that while America may think well of itself, I did not think well of it.

I had second or third hand knowledge of America's abusive acts towards minorities, women, and this land's orginal inhabitants, the Native Americans. I'd heard about America's jingoistic wars in Asia and South America even before I could find those places on a map. As a child, I could feel the hypocrisy in the words and actions of the adults around me, who spoke of our great nation, yet allowed (from my childish perspective) to let bad things happen to others in America's name.

While perhaps justified, and the subject for another post, this shame was all I knew until I traveled to another country at 16. By that time, I was declaring I was a citizen of the world. So, it took seeing the United States through outside eyes to help me see what was good about this country: our foundation in a spirit of democracy and freedom.

Living outside the United States helped me think more deeply about what it means to be an American. I read the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. I concluded that I could be proud to be an American citizen, look our mistakes and closed-minded choices straight in the eye and see them for what they were: decisions by majority rule, or sometimes decisions by whomever gave the most money and therefore held the most power.

The United States is far from perfect. No nation-state is. Where America falls short of its ideal is in the conduct of its individuals, which is where the fate of our democracy rests. On. Our. Shoulders. That means all who can vote, need to. it is their civic duty. All who can need to communicate to their elected representatives. And then there's always art in all its forms to let out our voice and be heard.

From The Declaration of Independence

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

A few notes: By men, I take that to mean "people." This phrase says NOTHING about taking rights away from others.

I stand for open and free elections, freedom and rights especially for women and children, and most of all, to be free from the oppression of violence, war, and the muzzling of free speech.

I'm open to a discussion of the merits of these ideas. Though i do not appreciate and hold the line at name calling, and insulting one's character just because you disagree. When we start name calling, we act on our fears. What's wrong with that, you may ask. Acting on our fears puts us right back into survival, a place we have been for many millenia. And where has acting on our fears lead us: to war, and the needless destruction of our habitat. Can we as humans evolve to the next level, one where we can be about enriching each other lives with art, good conversation and most of all love?

We have the ultimate choice in these tumultuous times: to act out of fear or to act out of love. It's our choice. And I want the freedom to choose. How about you?

Open, and Full Disclosure

Read about the US laws in action here, on the site of the Library of Congress

The plain text version of the US Patriot Act