Confessions of a Liberal Patriot

Patriotism is so taboo if you're "hip" and "with it" nowadays. Saying that America is great or some such statement will cause most people to roll their eyes at you. Hell, I'm guilty of it too. At a rehearsal for Pirates of Penzance, I saw a car with a "God bless America" sticker on it, and I scoffed at the fact that a hardcore patriot had infiltrated my rehearsal. It's not cool to love America, it's cool to criticize America.


Well, here's a shocking statement that may cause some of you to groan and roll your eyes, but I've been in the closet long enough. I love America. I love what it was built on and what it stands for. With apologies to our British, Australian, and Canadian Listologists, there's no place I'd rather live than the good old USA.


But wait a minute. Loving America has some connotations that I prefer not to associate myself with. Let's take a minute here to examine this with an analogy, shall we? I love plenty of people. But the people I love make mistakes. They go through phases that I'd prefer they not go through. They have different elements of their personalities and different moods, not all of which I like. Just because I love someone does not mean he or she cannot be subject to criticism. Indeed, my parents, who love me unconditionally, are by far my harshest critics.


So when I say I love America, I am also saddened by the phase she is going through. I can love America without being a conservative, can't I? I can love America and hate what Bush is doing to her. I don't have to unquestionably accept this bad phase America is in. I had a friend who continued to have a crush on this guy even though he constantly used her and / or treated her like shit. But I still loved my friend, and I think this is a perfect analogy for America right now. America is in an abusive relationship with Bush. Bush isn't any good for the state of America.


I'm passionate about movies. When I love a movie, I want other people to love it as well, which is why I have so many movie recommendations on my profile. I want other people to see the love I have for the movie. I feel the same way about America. I want other countries to like us. I don't want there to be an anti-American sentiment in France. I don't want most countries in the U.N. to constantly vote differently from the U.S., and I don't want the U.S. to ignore U.N. resolutions. And I definitely don't want the U.S. to be picking frivolous fights with other countries. I want every other country to see how great America is. But the sad thing is that the attitude of many people who consider themselves patriots is "Bomb the crap out of them, and who gives a damn what everyone else thinks?"


I am a patriot. I am a different kind of a patriot. I think my opinions are far more consistent with a love of my country than a guy who wants America to go to war with them there Iraqi bastards. I really hope we can stage an intervention to put America back on track. Right now, I'm worried about her.