patriotism

i haven't been here for a while, mostly 'cos i just recently moved to the east bay area of no. california, and i guess i just didn't have a fire to write what was on my mind.

anyway, fast forward to present day. well, actually back up about two weeks, before katrina showed us all what we (the united states) are really made of. i was in a car with some new friends and a new co-worker when i said something that surprised my co-worker. i can't recall verbatim, but i made a comment about the fact that i consider myself a patriot. at this moment i found it rather surprising that she thought it was surprising to her that i claimed patriotism.

patriot
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French patriote compatriot, from Late Latin patriota, from Greek patriOtEs, from patria lineage, from patr-, patEr father
: one who loves his or her country and supports its authority and interests

how could i not be a fan of this country??? the freedoms that i enjoy, take for granted, use, and probably abuse from time to time. then there's the education i received, the regulated pay wages (whether it's adjusted properly or not), and the health care standards and availabilities. i mustn't forget the protection i rely upon, and the justice system (as flawed as it may appear at times) that has served me as well. another blessing that comes with living and being a citizen is the money available to be made and to be gathered for post high school education. some easy reasons are the infrastructure and the continuing raising of the standards for the infrastructures (they may not be ideal everywhere, but there are standards). social services have served me and many of the people around me, we may not be at the same level as some of our G8 friends, but we have them. the list could go on for i know i'm skipping some and forgetting others. (it's easy to come up with a list when you spend a good amount of time outside of the u.s.)

this is a great list. however; i think there is something to consider about being a patriot. as a patriot, a fan of this country, there comes an expectation. the simple expectation is that the government is here to serve and protect us, the citizen.

currently i'm not sure if i'm seeing this. this is a saddening thought. this didn't start two weeks ago, with the debacle we most recently seen within government on both a local and federal level. it would be very easy to hop on the current band wagon, talk about how our government royally fucked up. yes i did just say that... before you ask me about that word choice later, ask someone who's going through this situation right now, or ask some of the people that had their world burnt to a crisp in the wildfires of fall 2003 in so. california.

it would be really easy right here to beat up "W" Bush and his administration, and believe me they need to be beat up some on this issue as well as some others. my thought process is leading me to hold myself accountable for this. have i done all that i can to keep the government/politicians accountable? i dunno. have you? i am responsible for the failure of the government. if i want to be a patriot i need to step up my own actions in the activities of the government i suppose.

i would ask that you would do the same... here's some ways to do so:

vote
write your represenative
" " senator
do the same with your local government
find action groups that hold your similar views and support 'em through word and deed.

lemme know what ideas you have, i'd enjoy checking 'em out and passin' 'em on

as someone older and wiser said,"be the change you want to see in the world." it all starts at home.