Independence Day

I'm proud to be an American.

Before you think this is just some souped-up, flag-waving, superficial sort of assertion, allow me to explain.  While I do have a very critical outlook on my country (and even on my state, but that's a rant for another time), I am, overall, very much proud to come from here and very happy to call it home.

I think the main thing that makes me proud to be American is my activism.  In looking at the long and rich tradition of progressivism in this country, I can see that I come from a proud and long tradition.  Our own president, in his inaugural address, delighted thousands of progressives by mentioning that we'd come "from Seneca Falls to Selma to Stonewall."  If you look at the women's rights movement, the gay rights movement, racial justice, and disability rights (to name a few!), many of these really got off the ground and rose to national prominence here in the states.  While things are unfortunately not equal yet, knowing that there has always been and always will be someone to fight for equality really makes me quite happy. 

That's the spirit of independence that I really can get behind.  It's the women who chained themselves to the gate of the White House so that they could vote, demanding the same rights and freedoms as men.  It's the crowd of radical womyn flooding the streets of San Francisco with candles and garish signs.  It's the gay and lesbian patrons of a bar in NYC deciding that this night, they would fight back after a police raid.  It's the thousands marching on Washington to demand equality.  All of these took individuals to stand up and say no more.  To stand up for themselves and for others.

It's an independence that is rooted in compassion and empathy, the ability to break from the crowd and to demand something better for oneself and for others.

And for that reason I am proud to be an American.