Taking Patriotism Back!

I am done with you whiny little bitches. I am done with the idea that conservatives or Republicans have a fucking monopoly on patriotism. I'm fucking taking patriotism back!

You know who isn't a US patriot? Someone who flies the Confederate flag. The Civil War was over 150 years ago and you lost. Let me just write that again because I get the feeling that you fragile fucking snowflakes haven't really accepted this yet. You LOST. Your flag is not our flag. Your leaders are not our leaders. Your statues are not our statues and your monuments are not our fucking monuments. You cower behind the idea that keeping these things is important to our history as a country and that's simply not true. This glorified memorabilia of yours doesn't remember history, it praises the losing side. It praises the things that this country chose to let go of, and rightly so. We have plenty of things in this country that properly remember the history of the time. They're called books. Maybe if you were a little more familiar with art and literature instead of believing that the cultured person's passions and vices are a weakness, you'd realize this. 

You tell liberals on a daily basis that they aren't patriots. You use the fact that they don't believe burning the flag should be illegal as your ammunition. You use the simple man's agenda to mislabel an entire group of people just so that you can steal the idea for yourself and yourself alone. 

Do you truly not understand the ideals this country was created under?

Or are you just still so upset that these ideals mean that you don't have the upper hand that you would spit on the very idea of American values? 

You claim our country is Judeo-Christian. You scream it into microphones and you write it on your Facebook page. You tout it like you fucking understand its origins. You don't. George Orwell came up with that concept (in 1939, long after our founding father's were dead). And it wasn't being used as a fucking compliment. 

You do know that we only added "under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954, right?! The founding father's had NOTHING to do with that. This is the original:

"I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

And this was written incidentally by a socialist minister (Francis Bellamy), ya dicks. 

In 1923, it became this: 

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

And it wasn't until our fear of communism came along in 1954 (which none of you people seem to have a problem with anymore) that Eisenhower asked congress to add the "under God" section. 

This country was founded on freedom. It was founded on liberty and justice for fucking ALL motherfuckers. 

Now, that doesn't mean that we haven't had some fairly huge missteps. That doesn't mean that we've always lived these morals the way that we should have. We've made major mistakes. But you trying to make those mistakes our actual value system is hateful, deplorable and embarrassingly ignorant. 

You tell liberals and progressives and that if they don't like this country, they can go ahead and leave it but it seems to me that you're the ones who don't like this country. You're the ones who are trying to change the country to fit your values. You're the ones trying to put your beliefs into the fabric of a country that's already been woven. 

You've added God to our Pledge. You've added God to our money. You've made your religion the backbone of your political arguments. And all the while freedom of religion and separation of church and state is fucking fundamental to the foundation of our country. 

The building blocks of this country are what we and the rest of the world view as true freedom. The ideals of the founding fathers are what we think of when we think of liberty and justice for all. 

The goal of our country should be to continually get closer and closer to those ideals and to use these ideals as a basis for how we respond to our environment. And you, the self-proclaimed patriot, have done absolutely nothing to honor these ideas. The only amendment you seem to care about is the one that gives you guns. 

You're blatantly selfish.

You're paralyzingly ignorant.

You're inexcusably greedy.

You're blindingly hate-filled.

And you're just plain wrong. 

You shout about fucking patriotism while you fly flags that are the polar opposite of patriotic. You holler until your voice is hoarse about a liberal or progressive agenda being unAmerican while you throw temper tantrums over the removal of your monuments and statues that celebrate unAmerican values.

Do you even understand what it means to be a true American? Can you even comprehend the real values that built this country?

You want to make America great again by abandoning American values, you stupid, stupid fuck. 

We're done listening to the white noise of a people (yes, pun very much intended) who can't even begin to understand the irony of their backwards, contradictory ideas. You think there's any pride to be taken in being a fucking fool? You think there's merit in being willfully ignorant and stubbornly stupid? You think that's American?

Cause it's not.

America is about freedom. America is about freedom and liberty and fucking justice. America is about equality and giving a finger to authority figures who try to take all of these things away from us. 

And that includes the police. A true American believes that just because someone wears a uniform and a badge doesn't mean that they get to modify our ideals to their liking. It doesn't mean they get to shoot first and ask questions later. That is NOT their job. Their job is, quite plainly, to SERVE and PROTECT all people, not just themselves. And if they don't like that, they don't have to do that job. Sure, Blue Lives Matter but not any more than any other fucking life in this country and making it seem like they are is decidedly unAmerican. 

Freedom for all. Justice for everyone. Liberty for the masses. And equality for all our people indiscriminately. THAT is America.

And if you don't like it...if you can't be the patriot that our country deserves...YOU, you confederate flag waving, Jim Crow-loving motherfucker, can get the fuck out.

Eulogy

The United States of America is officially dying. As 2016 comes to a close, our country struggles to take its lasts breaths. We say goodbye to a beloved President and First Family, the first African-American First Family and are forced to shake hands with the person who questioned our leader's birth certificate for 8 years. We not only rewarded the man who demanded proof of a man's American citizenship because of the color of his skin but we gave the completely unqualified monster his job.

We're exiting a time of prosperity and health and being asked to be led by a man who didn't win the popular vote, very much like we did at the beginning of this century. And whether we realize it or not, many of us are getting flashbacks to a time when our solution to terrorist attacks was to wage wars against the wrong enemy. The only difference is that where many of us thought that George W. Bush was the wrong choice, we didn't desperately fear what his presidency would bring. We didn't cry for the careless disregard that was being given to our constitution. We didn't tremble over the numerous similarities between our new leader and the leader of the Third Reich.

Each day that goes by, the man who lost the popular vote by over two and a half million (and counting) people pieces together his cabinet with person after person who is hoping to dismantle the beauty of our country. The country that takes care of its people through the education of its youth is faced with a woman who wants the quality of your children's education to be determined by your salary. The new head of the Environmental Protection Agency is the person least interested in protecting the environment. If this man had stock in bubble wrap, he'd tell you that our best bet for keeping our planet safe would be to paper the whole fucking place with that shit. And then he'd remind us how fun it is to pop it just so we'd have to buy more and redo the wrapping job. Our new labor secretary, a fast food CEO, isn't all that fond of labor and prides himself on his ability to sell the ultimate American dream: a busty blonde in a bikini eating a cheeseburger. The list goes on and each choice is worse than the one it follows.

Our President-Elect has been lying about jobs he saved, taking credit for jobs he has nothing to do with, has given the go-ahead to a potential tech monopoly, has gone on countless Twitter rants and embarrassing SNL rages that are the stuff of maniacal dictators and is currently holding a self-congratulatory Thank You Tour.

The United States is dying.

You know what, though? Maybe this is for the best. Maybe The United States of America, as it was, does need to come to an end. This nation was started under some thoroughly wonderful ideology and a finely crafted constitution and even before we put it into place, we were violating it.

How can you build a country of equality on the bones of the people whose land you stole to do so? How can the foundation of a truly equal nation stay strong when it's built by the work of slaves? And how can a flag stand for liberty and justice for all when it was sewn by a woman whose gender still isn't as "all" as another?

There are so many things that The United States got right. There is so much for us to be proud of. And yet, to tell the full truth, we have to admit that we're a country that has hypocrisy woven into our fibers. We pledge freedoms and still limit people's control of their own bodies. We promise justice when we regularly blame victims and absolve authority without a second glance. And we make caricatures of real people and then claim they're our tradition.

Maybe there was no way to build the country we wanted using the methods we employed before. Maybe there was no way to fix the mistakes we made when more people weren't joining in the fight. We can't just fight for our own rights, we have to fight for the rights of all.

I can't just care about the rights of white women just because I am one. I have to care about the rights of all people, of all genders, of all identities. I have to join hands with people who don't look like me or sound like me or love like me and pledge to fight just as hard for their rights as I do my own. If I don't, then not only do I not deserve the rewards but I haven't actually worked for them.

Maybe this will be our Rebirth of a Nation. Maybe this was our only way to survive. Maybe this is how we save our country, instead of how we lose it

Hypocrisy -- The Blue State Comedy Tour

This not something that should need an entire blog post to address but it seems that there is a rather large portion of the American people that need a lesson in what does and does not make a person a hypocrite.

And in an effort to reach out to those particular people, I felt like it was important to use the format and cadence of a powerful ambassador for their people.

1. IF the presidential candidate you voted for is the same person who spent all EIGHT years of Barack Obama's presidency questioning his place of birth and demanding over and over again to see his birth certificate and now you're telling those upset over this same person becoming the President-Elect of The United States of America (PEOTUS) that they need to show their loyalty and support for this man based solely on his new government position...YOU might be a HYPOCRITE.

2. IF you swore up and down that a "yuge" reason you voted for Donald J. Trump for President of the United States was because he was going to "drain the swamp" of all the corrupt lobbyists and executives from corporate America that have worked their way into our government and then you're okay with every single one of his covered-in the-swampy-muck choices...YOU might be a HYPOCRITE.

3. IF you stated over and over again that the choices for president need to be less focused on all of their personal interests and more focused on bettering America and then you get pissy because everyone is upset that Trump is not setting up a blind trust and instead mixing and matching family members between his transition team and his executive board...YOU might be a HYPOCRITE.

4. IF you wailed over the amount of money Hillary Clinton took for giving speeches to Goldman Sachs and you don't have a fucking problem with Donald Trump continuing to be an executive producer on The Celebrity Apprentice...YOU might be a HYPOCRITE.

5. IF you bitched and moaned over the American government costing the American people money and you aren't fucking irate over the fact that the American government is now going to be paying Trump money so that the Secret Service can live in Trump Tower because Melanea and Baron aren't moving to The White House...YOU might be a HYPOCRITE.

6. IF you've been one of those people that have thrown the word elitist around every time Hillary Clinton was mentioned and now you have nothing to fucking say about the fact that Donald Trump doesn't think that the fucking White House is a good enough home base for himself and his family...YOU might be a motherfucking HYPOCRITE.

7. IF you say that you believe in equality and freedom for all citizens and you used your vote to allow a person using racist, sexist and bigoted language to become the President-Elect of The United States of America...YOU might be a HYPOCRITE.

AND...

8. IF you call yourself a patriot, an American patriot, and you don't have a problem with Russia meddling in our election...YOU might be a HYPOCRITE.

Questions

Normally, I like to think that I have all the answers. Although I certainly haven't fooled myself into thinking I'm an astronaut or rocket scientist, I do like to think that I know stuff. I do well at Jeopardy. My educated guesses are pretty right on. I tend to figure out who the killer is pretty early in movies or tv shows. And I pick up things fairly quickly, in general. Basically, I'm awesome. 

But, this isn't that kind of blog post. 

Cause there are just some things that I don't understand. 

Like, superficial judgement. Whether it has do to with your race or gender or physical appearance, whatever. I don't get superficial judgement. I don't understand how just by looking at me, you think you know me. Skinny and fat shaming fall into this category. Thinking people with tattoos are somehow less responsible would fit into this one too. I mean, I just mentioned that I think I'm smart and yet I can promise you that those things don't help me determine what you're like. How the fuck do I know what you're like until I actually talk to you?

And another one. Religion. Judging people on their religion, I just don't understand. I mean, fuck off. If you know anything about the major religions we've got going on, you know that they're pretty similar in the things they preach. Sure, the stories they use are different but the morals tend to be very close to one another. So, why aren't religious people just happy that there are other religious people out there? Why aren't they happy that so many other people share their thoughts on how to live their life while they're here? Why isn't being a person of faith something that draws those people together instead of dividing them so significantly so often? 

And along those same lines, why is it that people are so intent on mixing religion and government? The same people that are constantly talking about how the second amendment is woven in gold and shouldn't have any limits of any kind have no problem disregarding freedom of religion and separation of church and state. How can you claim that one amendment is more important than another like that? And if you start reminding me that there isn't much ahead of the right to bear arms in the constitution, I'll remind you that freedom of religion is one of those that is. So given that, why does anyone think it's okay to force their religion on anyone else? I don't care how good you think yours is, faith and religion are very personal things and to tell anyone that you should be in charge of how they show their faith and choose to worship is criminal and a personal violation. 

Nextly (Yes, I know that's not a word, so what), why is it so fucking hard for some people to put themselves in someone else's shoes? Do we really need to have experienced something in order to be able to determine whether something is shitty or not? How is it that so many people can willfully ignore real problems and issues just because it isn't affecting them directly? How does it not cause them actual pain to see others in pain? How is this not a thing that everyone deals with? 

Also, why is it the initial reaction of so many to blame the victim? Is the idea of a broken system or fallen hero so horrifying to you that you would chose to stick your head in the sand, or worse, blame the injured party just in order to sleep better at night? And why isn't blaming the victim keeping you awake? Why does ignoring a real problem put some at ease instead of fighting for what's right? I understand that ignorance is bliss but what about an outright refusal to admit what you have to know deep down? Is that bliss as well? 

And are there really that many people out there that actually think that their race is a superior race? Cause sometimes it really seems like there are still a lot of people out there like that. Is that just a magnification of the terrible the way that tends to happen with the media or is that still a significant percentage of people? And for those people who truly believe this, how is that even possible? How can anyone actually think that one race is better than another? How can pigmentation mean so fucking much? 

And to that same end, are there also really people out there that think one gender is better than another? Do some feminists really believe women are better than men? Do other people really think that the majority of feminists have this warped view? Do some men really believe that they deserve to earn more for the same level of work? And are there really both men and women who think that the man should be the head of the household and the woman be subservient? And I don't mean just having traditional roles, I mean actually thinking that the man is the boss of the woman, as if husband replaces father and woman stays a child. 

Here's another: do most people really believe that their country is better than every other country and the people in it? Do most Americans really believe that they're better than other people from other places? And not your standard, respectful patriotism but the actual belief that being American means being better? And is the state of our country today not giving you pause in this belief system?

Question: are there really people out there that think that we can make life better for anyone through hate? Are there really people who don't view hate as a disease that needs to be eradicated? Are there really people left in this world who don't realize that hate destroys the soul, poisons the heart and decays the brain?

And with that same thought in mind, how does hurting other people not make some people feel terrible inside? How does causing pain in others not make some people wither inside? How can you cause tears in another and not feel a part of you die inside? And how does it seem like some people thrive on this feeling? How can it be that some people get energy from the destruction they cause in others? I was a dick to a guy in the drive-thru of an Arby's in Los Angeles about five to seven years ago and I still haven't been able to let it go. I was wrong and I was a dick and my friend told me so and I still feel bad. How is it that there are some people who don't work this way? 

And finally, how is it that for some people a stranger's own personal experiences and life choices are so deeply offensive? This one really fucks me up -- I just don't get it. I just don't understand. And if there's someone out there that this is true for, please, I beg you -- educate me. How is someone else's life experience -- someone that you don't know, someone who has no bearing on your life -- how do their actions and how does their life, in general, become so violently offensive to you? Why do you feel it's your place to watch them, judge them and then attempt to eviscerate them from afar just because you disagree with the way they classify themselves or the way feel they have to live their life in order to be true to themselves? And you know exactly what I'm talking about here, not serial killing, not theft or torture -- but choosing to become a more whole person, from their own perspective. How do you feel it's your place to take a very real and very painful situation and try to crush the person struggling with their own identity?

So these are just some of the questions I have. These are some of the things I've been struggling with, both lately and for a lot of my life. And sometimes it just gets tiring to try and try and try to come up with answers when it seems like so many people don't have any desire to actually come up with solutions. So, instead I wanted to share my questions and struggles with you, knowing that there are other people out there that have the same things going around in their minds. Maybe together we can work some things out.