I am not proud to be an American. I do not say the Pledge of Allegiance. I do not have a flag to put up on Independence Day. Because honestly? What I want more than anything is to not be a part of this country – to be oceans and citizenships away from here. The United States is billed as the land of the free, as a place of peace and justice and wealth and happiness. Americans are kidding themselves when they say that that is how the world views this country. They block out the fact that, actually, America is seen as apathetic, selfish, and intolerant. I don’t want to be a part of this country, because I am sick of being seen as something I am not just because of where I live. But the fact of the matter is, the rest of the world is right.

People in America do not live in the present. They do not know what is going on and they could not care less. They are selfish. They are indifferent. They are stubborn, intolerant, unintelligent and careless. They have fallen asleep and are living in a dream world where America is the greatest country in the world instead of being awake in this world where American could be the greatest. Americans commute with NPR on their radio, with facts filling their cars, with news items thrown at them from every angle, but Americans do not listen. The people I share this country with can not see past the billboards and television screens and they can not see past the Pacific and the Atlantic. Americans can not see the world as any more than this country and yet they are not even grateful for that: the fact that they have been citizens of somewhere since birth with someone looking after them seems to mean nothing to them. This country is not in anarchy. This country is not under attack. This country is not censored. This country is at least that lucky.

I have lived through several major points in history, but I never thought about them as such until today. I was in third grade when the World Trade Center was hit by airplanes. I was that young when American troops were sent to the Middle East. I have lived in a time or war, terror, and genocide and yet it seems that people would rather read fashion magazines than wonder what they will tell their children about these years that they have lived through; what if our future is the same as this? What will I tell my children? Nothing has changed since then? I don’t want to tell my kids that the wars and genocide in Africa have always been a current event and that they always will be. I don’t want to tell them that war is a constant. I don’t want to tell them that in my lifetime I have seen species die out.

Today I was proud of my country. I saw that people here can understand that something is wrong, even if they can’t see the source. Maybe in time they can figure it out, but for now “in time” isn’t enough. I am not a perfect person. I can not fix this country, but I can see that its practices aren’t to blame. Its people are. The only way that America can ever be seen as the greatest nation is if the people in it wake up and realize that they need to change. This country is not the land we live on and it is not the language that we speak, the way we dress or our government. This country is the people. And WE THE PEOPLE need to change. I am one person – what about the rest of you?

I'm still not quite sure if this will get flames or not. I guess I'll see... all I know is, it's the truth.

Falcon