Proud To Be An American

I got this shirt a month ago in the mail as an unsolicited "gift" along with a request for a donation to a Veterans group. I put it in the give-away bag.

But last week, I got it out. I thought that if the election turned out as I hoped, I might just want to wear it. Today I am. I am also flying the flag.

For a long time now, I have not felt that pride. The Bush administration took away my flag and turned it into a symbol of false patriotism. Pride was weighted down with the burden that we as a country were not what we should be, not nearly what we could be. Our pre-emptive war, our go-it-alone attitude, our for-me-or-against-me, friend-or-enemy world view was frightening as well as embarrassing. We traveled extensively in Europe during the last three years, and we knew what they thought of our president over there.

Here at home we were falling apart. Hurricane Katrina showed us that our agencies were hollow shells, the real professionals replaced with political pals with no skill. Capitalism run amuck without regulation rewarded the powerful rich and left the rest of us picking up the pieces when the house of cards collapsed. Our personal freedoms were invaded. Our environment suffered.

Now we have hope again that we will be the country we can be, that we should be. That once again we can be a beacon for the world. That we can once again take back our flag and restore our pride in our America.

BTW -These photos were taken with my new camera. I bought a Canon PowerShot SX110 IS, a small, light weight, two AA battery powered point and shoot camera, with plenty of manual options and a 10X zoom for those birds and beasts and bugs in the bush. I'm having fun learning to use it.

It's a good day.

For another reaction to the election, check out my son's blog. It is listed at the top of my blog list - Ambiguously Disgruntled. Be prepared for the "attitude" of a 33 year old young man, but if you like it, leave him a comment. He'd be blown away.