Am I missing a point here? Maybe it has something to do with my generation but I always laugh when I here people defending our government's actions and policies by invoking patriotism or spouting some pep rally style "U.S. is Best!" gibberish.
I am an American, a true American, not some second or third generation Ellis Island charity case. My ancestors fought the revolution, the War of Northern Aggression both Great Wars and all the conflicts in between. And I still have a hard time aligning my love for the people of this country, my awe at the productivity of this country with the actions of our country's government.
As Americans we are obligated to be culturally superior the lesser societies of the world. Part of that obligation requires us to question the motives and actions of those we pay to administer our national interests. And to apply our morality and logic to their actions.
I hate that I see my government behaving like the tyrannies our fathers paid so dearly to defeat and purge from humanity.
I hate that I see in our culture an inexorable slide into a lowest common denominator mindset. I hate that with almost 300 million citizens, the best we can come up with for candidates to the exalted position of Commander in Chief are the ones we are considering today.
I'm sickened by many things I see in my country everyday. Is that un-American?
As for France, I don't see that we've really ever truly repaid them in kind for the debt we owe. Remember that were it not for France, we would likely never existed as a nation at all. We have never endured the history of the European countries and don't live with the national memories of the kind of devastation war has brought to many other nations of the world, neither has Britain. to expect any Continental government to have the same views as we do regarding national policy is uninformed, arrogant and, well, just un-American.
Surely someone will rebut that we honored our historical obligation to the French and will point to the endless cemeteries filled with allied soldiers of both wars. Just remember how we fought in France, the civilian casualty estimates used by the strategists, the offhand support offered to partisans, the millions we allowed to die until we were drawn into the European engagement by a collateral defense treaty we weren't even a party to. Because we declared war on a nation on the opposite side of the planet.
If we had to worry about 90 year old unexploded bombs in our backyards, I trust we would have a bit more pragmatic view of armed conflict. It is our privilege and obligation to be the standard by which the world measures itself and only with mature and educated introspection can we hope to honor that obligation. Not by by assuming your backyard is better than another's simply because YOU were born there.
