Pride/Shame
I’m not Michelle Obama, so I have impunity in saying it: I am ashamed of my country.
I mean, what do I have to be proud of? Our record on international relations? Our economy? Our entertainment industry? Our environmental record? Schools? Banks?
I used to be okay with the United States. The 1990s were, taken as a whole, pretty great. There were plenty of bumps in the road, but income disparity shrank, innovation exploded, and we were well-liked the world ’round. Work was easy to find, and Seinfeld was on.
Now, what?
Anyway, the way I’m feeling about the upcoming election hinges on this question of pride and shame. If Obama-Biden pull it off (or, more accurately put, if the American voting public pulls it off for Obama-Biden), pride will be restored. It would be a mea culpa, a rejection of the bad policies and divisiveness of the last eight years.
But for McSame-HockeyMilf to win would serve as a stamp of approval for the dismal job Bush-Cheney have done. I cannot be proud of that, and instead, my shame will only harden. It may become permanent.
