This week we had a small acknowledgment for a staff member who just became a citizen. A major achievement when you realize just how moronic and convoluted the process is.
As a joke we played the national anthem while we called him out. A strange thing happened though, several people placed their hands on the hearts like when you were in grade school.
Unfortunately I saw it less as solemn patriotism and more like a Pavlovian response.
When I commented on it, one person said " if you don't like America, get the hell out".
Which is the same tired answer that people who know nothing about their own country and it's government say as a knee jerk reaction. More on her at the end of this rant.*
I love living in the US but I most certainly am not proud to call it home for a variety of reasons (most of which seem to revolve around a group of people hell-bent on doing the wrong thing because thats what makes them the most money) and anyone who says they love their country unconditionally is not living in reality.
It's pretty simple…America is not the greatest country in the world…but we certainly could work towards that if we really and truly tried. I'm not the first person to say that and I certainly won't be the last.
I've posted this before and now I will again if only because (despite it being dialogue from a tv drama) it so succinctly spells out what is wrong and what used to be right with us...
The Newsroom - "We just Decided To".
Newsman Will Macavoy, Sharon, a liberal television program producer and Lewis, a conservative politician are on a panel at a local college. College student comes to the microphone...
Jenny: “Can you say why America is the greatest country in the world?”
Sharon: “Diversity and opportunity.”
Moderator: “Louis?”
Louis: “Freedom and freedom…so let’s keep it that way.”
Moderator: “Will?”
Will: “The New York Jets.”
Moderator:“No, I’m going to hold you to an answer on that. What makes America the greatest country in the world?”
Will: “Well, Louis and Sharon said it. Diversity and opportunity and freedom and freedom.”
Moderator: “I’m not letting you go back to the airport without answering the question.”
Will: “Well, our Constitution is a masterpiece. James Madison was a genius. The Declaration of Independence is, for me, the single greatest piece of America writing…”
(Professor keeps staring).
Will: “You don’t look satisfied.”
Moderator:“One’s a set of laws and the other’s a declaration of war. I want a human moment from you…what about the people? Why is America…”
Will: “It’s not the greatest country in the world, professor. That’s my answer.”
Moderator: “You’re saying…”
Will: “Yes.”
Moderator: “Let’s talk about…”
Will: “Fine.”
(Will turns to Sharon)
Will: “Sharon, the NEA is a loser. Yeah, it accounts for a penny out of our paycheck, but he…”
(Gestures to Louis)
Will: “…gets to hit you with it anytime he wants. It doesn’t cost money…it costs votes. It costs airtime and column inches. You know why people don’t like liberals? Cause they lose. If liberals are so fucking smart, how come they lose so god damn always?”
Sharon: “Hey!…”
(Will turns to Louis.)
Will: [without letting her finish, he directs his attention to Lewis] And with a straight face, you're gonna tell students that America's so star-spangled awesome, that we're the only ones in the world who have freedom? Canada has freedom, Japan has freedom, the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Australia, Belgium has freedom. [laughs] So 207 sovereign states in the world, like a hundred and eighty of them have freedom.
Moderator: Alright–
Will: And yeah, you, sorority girl. Just in case you accidentally wander into a voting booth one day, there's some things you should know, and one of them is, there's absolutely no evidence to support the statement that we're the greatest country in the world. We're 7th in literacy, 27th in math, 22nd in science, 49th in life expectancy,
178th in infant mortality, 3rd in median household income, number 4 in labor force,
and number 4 in exports.
We lead the world in only 3 categories: number of incarcerated citizens per capita, number of adults who believe angels are real, and defense spending, where we spend more than the next 26 countries combined. 25 of whom are allies. Now, none of this is the fault of a 20 year old college student. But you, nonetheless, are without a doubt a member of the worst. generation. ever. So when you ask, "what makes us the greatest country in the world?" I dunno know what the fuck you're talking about.
[Pause]
We sure used to be. We stood up for what was right. We fought for moral reasons. We passed laws, struck down laws for moral reasons. We waged wars on poverty, not poor people. We sacrificed, we cared about our neighbors. We put our money where our mouths were. And we never beat our chest.
We built great big things, made ungodly technological advances, explored the universe, cured diseases, and we cultivated the world's greatest artists and the world's greatest economy. We reached for the stars, acted like men. We aspired to intelligence, we didn't belittle it, it didn't make us feel inferior. We didn't identify ourselves by who we voted for in our last election.
And we didn't... we didn't scare so easy. We were able to be all these things, and to do all these things, because we were informed. By great men, men who were revered. First step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one. America is not the greatest country in the world anymore.
[Pause, then to the moderator] Enough?
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For reference, here are some statistics drawn from the government and they may give you a different idea of what this country is about.
We spend the most per student on education but don't produce the smartest students.
We export more weapons than anyone else in the world.
We have more guns in private hands than any other country.
We use more energy than any other country.
More babies die the day they were born in the US than in any industrialized country.
We excel in creating rich people (at the expense of the rest of the population).
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And as for that misguided individual...I guess I really can't expect any better discourse from someone who once argued with me that Ex-President George Bush was "smart". For the hell of it, here are some of the better things that "genius" said:
"Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."
"Too many good docs are getting out of the business. Too many OB-GYN's aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country."
"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."
"There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."
"I'm telling you there's an enemy that would like to attack America, Americans, again. There just is. That's the reality of the world. And I wish him all the very best."
"One of the things important about history is to remember the true history."
"I'll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside
this Oval Office."
"Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning"?
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