America

The author Vonnegut was not exactly a patriot. In fact, he classified nationalities as 'granfalloons,' or as "a proud and meaningless association of human beings." I think it goes a bit far- to many people the association carries great personal meaning. However, he does make a point about the nature of nationality. What is a nation? It's a group of shared ideas, many of them completely arbitrary. 

If you go out to the southern Arizona desert, there is no line across the desert, separating Mexico from USA. If there are boundaries in this world, they largely man-made. It's not really defined by where you live, as there are many Americans living outside the US, and there are many non-Americans living in America. 

What is an American? An American looks like anyone in the world. There is no ethnicity, no color, no race of Americans. There is an American accent and way of speaking, but these are cultural constructs, shared ideas.

Countries are experimental social agreements. Power and politics are games to determine how and how long a group of people can keep control of other people. Long ago, a group of people loosely under the control of a social agreement based on a European island decided that the social agreements were not valid and fought a war for the establishment of a new social agreement.

I support America, I am proud to be an American, because I think we have the best experiment going. The founders and leaders of America were and are self-serving hypocrites, like any person who willingly assumes power over the lives of others, but with a difference. Flawed as they were as individuals, they fought for and established a system based on admirable ideals. Governance of the people, by the people, and for the people.  A humanitarian system of laws and justice centered on the idea that individuals have fundamental rights. These are the things for which I stand and choke me up. History, culture, Americana, symbols, and songs are so much fluff when you get down to it. Burn the stars and stripes, blow up the Statue of Liberty, tear down the Mall of America and the mom n' pop hamburger stand. You can't destroy an idea. This is the land that I love.