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Feb. 22nd, 2008
So apparently, Barack Obama's wife said the other day that “for the first time in my adult life, I am proud to be an American.” This remark has drawn all sort of criticisms and derision, because feelings of shame are, of course, a moral failure on the part of the person who feels them, rather than on the part of those who did the shameful acts in the first place. I read one of them, a response column by Michelle Malkin, chiding and rebuking Michelle for lacking pride in her country. She continued on into an anthem of patriotic pride for her country. It combined most of the rhetorical talking points that I'm used to seeing from the right wing. It also put me somewhat in mind of the credits to the Colbert Report. Flags wave in the wind. Eagles soar. Red, white and blue stars, and a man valiantly waving a flagpole. And everybody falls in line.
If someone were to ask me, today, now, “Are you proud of your country?” My first response would probably be “Fuck no.” And my second would be to ask “Why, should I be?”
And my third would probably be “What the hell does it mean, to be proud of your country?”
( This is the spirit of independence; we look out for ourselves and help ourselves. This is the spirit of capitalism; that if every man looks to his own self-interest, an invisible hand will smooth the market out to everyone's benefit. )
It's a retarded question, because it's not a simple world and it's not a simple answer. Yes, I am proud to be American, I am proud of the work that my countrymen do. And yes, I am ashamed, ashamedashamedASHAMED of the atrocities that my countrymen have perpetrated, the madness and moral corruption that they perpetuate, of the overwhelming greediness and selfishness and willful blindness that is the spirit of our country today.
And I am not ashamed to be ashamed. And neither should be Michelle Obama.
If someone were to ask me, today, now, “Are you proud of your country?” My first response would probably be “Fuck no.” And my second would be to ask “Why, should I be?”
And my third would probably be “What the hell does it mean, to be proud of your country?”
( This is the spirit of independence; we look out for ourselves and help ourselves. This is the spirit of capitalism; that if every man looks to his own self-interest, an invisible hand will smooth the market out to everyone's benefit. )
It's a retarded question, because it's not a simple world and it's not a simple answer. Yes, I am proud to be American, I am proud of the work that my countrymen do. And yes, I am ashamed, ashamedashamedASHAMED of the atrocities that my countrymen have perpetrated, the madness and moral corruption that they perpetuate, of the overwhelming greediness and selfishness and willful blindness that is the spirit of our country today.
And I am not ashamed to be ashamed. And neither should be Michelle Obama.
