My father was a patriotic man. He was in the Corp at Texas A&M College as it was called back in the 1940s. He entered the Army during World War II but never saw action because the fighting was nearing its end. He had recordings of speeches by generals who had guided the United States armed forces in that war. He spoke with reference of General Eisenhower who eventually became President Eisenhower.
My mother was a patriotic woman. She recounted how her father, an immigrant, taught her and her siblings to cherish their citizenship which was duly granted to them by the 14th amendment of the Constitution. She would literally shed tears of gratitude for the freedoms of her country whenever she heard patriotic songs. She taught me and my brothers to be proud Americans not because we believed that our nation was inherently better than others but because it was right and just to honor the country that had provided opportunities to people from across the globe for so much of its history.
Both my mother and father were learned people with college degrees in an era when they were the exception rather than the rule among their contemporaries. As students of history they were honest about mistakes that the United States had made but they marveled in our country’s willingness to admit to its error and right wrongs. They both understood that we were still moving toward a more perfect union but were not yet there.
I am a patriotic woman. I have always felt fortunate to be a citizen of the United States of America. At the same time I realized that i did not have to do anything for that designation other than being born from two parents who were citizens. I often thought of people in what was then Czechoslovakia, the homeland of my immigrant maternal grandparents. For much of my life the people there were under the tyrannical rule of the Communist USSR. I imagined relatives that I had never known living in dire circumstances while I enjoyed freedom. It saddened me to realize that my own luck had randomly made my life so much easier than theirs.
I am still a patriotic woman today. I love the United States of America and its people but in this moment I feel shame that we have a president who is taking down so much of the progress for minority groups that had been created during the decades of my lifetime. While I had been encouraged by the goodwill that prompted a recognition of faults in our laws I took for granted that once the necessary improvements had been made that they would remain forever. It never occurred to me that the kind of anti-immigrant fervor that made life so difficult for my grandparents and their children would suddenly be resurrected and used as a cudgel to place a cruel and vindictive man in the White House.
I am a patriotic woman. I love my country and because I do I cannot abide by what I am witnessing. I feel as though I am watching an arsonist put a torch to the hard work of citizens, congress men and women, and former presidents. We the people have tried to create a more perfect version of our nation. It is an enormous task but I felt comfort in knowing that at the very least we were inching forward in the right direction. Now I am confounded, anxious, and deeply saddened by the ugliness that I am witnessing and I worry that so much damage will be done that it will not be possible to repair during the short time that I have left on this earth.
I am a patriotic woman. I love my fellow Americans but I do not understand how so many of them have been fooled by a dangerous man who appears to have very little concern for any of us. Every word he speaks and every action he takes is centered on himself and somehow the guardrails on which I have always depended seem to be failing, stolen from us with deceit and fear. I truly cannot understand why every American is not appalled by what they are seeing. I wonder why our sense of love for this country is paralyzing our willingness to speak out before so much damage is done that we will not recognize where we are. Everyone who has ever felt gratitude for our freedoms should be willing to protect the decency and morality of almost two hundred fifty years of ever increasing democracy for more and more of its people.
If a mother sees her child in a dangerous situation she does everything to save her little one. If a soldier sees his platoon in a dangerous situation he does everything to save his comrades. If a patriot sees the United States in a dangerous situation she does everything to save the most long lasting democracy on earth.
So this is where I am. I will not stand by and watch the dismantling of the country that I love. I hope that every American will see clearly what is happening and join me in saving our nation. We can do it without violence and tanks in the street. We must exercise our rights and join in numbers that get the attention of those we sent to represent us. Contact the members of Congress today! Send your concerns to the White House. Let your voices be heard. If stand idly by our nation will become more and more unrecognizable. This is not a time to be silent.
I am a patriot. My democracy and my freedom are in danger. I will do whatever I can to save it.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 