A rare political post stimulated by rockets red glare (and Sarah Palins even being mentioned as running.
When Michelle Obama said it was the first time she was proud of USA or something like that, I understood perfectly. I have never stood up the national anthem even in first grade. I guess as I walked to school in the lower east side of NYC it did not look that good to me……
Friends coming to America are surprised when people stand up during the national anthem, in operas in the park, everyone stands up My European friends can’t believe it, They say you are a nation of sheep with everyone asleep. In Europe, they tell me, most people would flip the bird if they played their anthems and they daily protest the state of the economic meltdown, inequalities and march when schools loose money.
Living in the new Europe has taught me about nationalism. In most countries in Europe now, people don’t wave flags and remember wars with pride and stand up with hands over heart when the national anthem is played. They protest when money stops going to schools, when the government supports wars.
In USA people are like sheep, the wave the flags, even when the government makes wars, takes away schools, does not have healthcare, and celebrate their freedom to do this with pride. After 9-11 flags were on every car, almost all people became nuts with nationlism and French fries were renamed freedom fries so we could invade countries.
Its over time to give up nationalism for its own sake, and start activiely protesting a national philosophy and government that has had it wrong for many years. We are all happy Obama is changing this, but on this fourth of July I was happy like usual not to wag a flag for war.
