I find it inspiring, in a way, that Election Day was followed by Guy Fawkes Day. Now, most Americans don't know any more about Guy Fawkes Day than what they've seen in the movie, "V For Vendetta," so I'll just say that a quote from there is quite appropriate to what the situation was, and that we seem to finally care enough to remedy the situation -- or at least to attempt to do so. "People should not be afraid of their Government. Governments should be afraid of their people." Now, it may surprise many to find that the quote is pulled and reassembled succinctly from an American Patriot of the early days of this country. Thomas Jefferson once said, "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."

This is about my country, my President, my National Anthem, and the last eight years. George W Bush has made it an embarrassing thing to be patriotic, and American. One of the things I was kinda proud of in high school was that I'd made the A Capella choir, one of the duties of such was to perform the National Anthem at school events. Because of the direction our country has taken since Mr. Bush assumed office, I no longer feel the swell of pride in the Star-Spangled Banner written so lovingly by Francis Scott Key, but instead a tearful shame. I don't like feeling this way about my country. I was always thankful that I lived in a land where I had the privileges afforded me to the point of being frightened by dreams where I hadn't been born in such a country.

I have my share of problems, as do we all. I had an atrocious childhood, a miserable adolescence, and a fairly dreary early adulthood. In recent weeks, however, my long-dormant ember of hope has been fanned into a candle flame again. As I am entering into middle adulthood, I find that not only is my personal life finally rising and shaking its fur clean of the soggy mess it had become, but only two days ago, I was witness to a historic event in my country's history -- in some ways, 389 years in coming. My hope is growing. The world of despair is on the decline and I like this feeling.

Over the past 8 years, I have found myself apologizing for being an American to friends from other countries! I should never have to do that. This country was founded on ideals that should make it the best in the world for reasons other than monetary or technology. This country should be the best simply by virtue of the fact... that it is the country where an individual's rights are respected and protected -- by each and every member of the country. However, in the past 2847 days, it has increasingly become less that ideal and more a playground for those who would choose to force their ideas and beliefs upon others. There are only 75 more days of the Bush Regime. At that point, he and his will be merely an unpleasant remembrance to most.

75 days, though, is a long time when you're told the end of a long journey will be here.

The greatest tragedy in my country's history brought not only that country, but the entire WORLD, together in a way such that anything could have been accomplished. Our leaders could have called for anything approaching a move toward making life better for us all, but that didn't happen. Our leaders could have approached the event from an angle that might have done some good, such as, "Why do these people hate us enough to inspire such vehement reaction?" But they didn't. I'm not claiming to have the answers, but then, it's not my job to have them. I'm also not blaming the vast majority of my country's leaders, as they were just as afraid and uncertain as any of us in those deadly frightening days. Instead, they followed along behind a Commander-in-Chief that saw to it that there was penned and enacted a virtual killing blow to the purposes and premises of this great land, a veritable plague upon our liberties that eats away at what it means to be a proud citizen of these United States, and called it -- perhaps in some sort of vile attempt at humor -- the Patriot Act.

In the past 8 years, there have been stories of friends going abroad in the world and telling me about situations occurring in which they felt that they had to say they were from Canada to avoid being embarrassed, to avoid being sneered at, to avoid being beaten to hell. I'm tired of just plain not being ALLOWED by my conscience to be proud of my country. I want to be able to feel an upwelling of pride when the accomplishments of my leaders and countrywomen and countrymen are mentioned. I want to be able to walk down the sidewalk and spontaneously break into my rendition of the National Anthem -- and be looked at funny for spontaneously breaking into song -- not for my choice of song. I want to hear about people wanting my countrywomen and countrymen around because we're good people from a great place that means hope and pride in the eyes of the world again.

Anyway, whatever happened to:

"Give me your tired your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

The last lines of the poem, "The New Colossus," written by Emma Lazarus in 1883, and 20 years later, engraved on a bronze plaque mounted at the foot of the Statue of Liberty.

The poem as a whole is quite inspiring, actually:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Are we not still "The Great Melting Pot?" This is the United States of America, aren't we supposed to be the ones that offer freedom and a new chance at life to those that are persecuted for being different? This is supposed to be the land of promise, the place where anyone can get a fair chance.

Dammit why does it SUCK to be from the United States now? Or at least, it did. We have a new chance now, with a man in the Oval Office that could harken back to the great days we once enjoyed. A man that could lead us into the future we're supposed to have. I hope he can do these things. We have no one to blame but ourselves, and we have taken the first steps to fix this problem. Being a country of freedoms, we seem to think that makes us free to ignore the problem and that someone else will take care of it. Freedom DOES have a price. That price is, "If it's broken, you have to fix it."

Well, here's the thing: it's broken, we have to fix it. If you're from the U.S., wouldn't you like to be proud of where you're from again? Get your scrawny (or not-so-scrawny, I don't care) scrawny ass off the couch, out of the computer chair, what-the-hell-ever... get people motivated. We have to fix this. If you're not from the U.S. well, wouldn't you like to not be disgusted when any of us come around anymore?

Well, most of you are thinking by now that this is way too preachy, way too starry-eyed, or whatever you're thinking... it's "way too"

I could give two shits.

I don't like feeling this way and if more people here (here being the general location that is the U.S. as a whole) had the decency to be ashamed about our country as a whole, well, I'm guessing I wouldn't need to feel this way anymore as things would be changing.

One more quote to think about before you go back to what you were doing before...

"We will not forget that liberty here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar be neglected."

-- President Grover Cleveland
at the acceptance of the Statue of Liberty ceremony, October 28, 1886