What Does it Mean to be American?

Yesterday, I said some things that may have made me look unpatriotic to some. Let me clarify.

I am not unpatriotic at all. I love the United States and would not live anywhere else. But that does not stop me - and nor should it stop anyone else - from expressing opinions.

There are many countries in the world where speaking out against the government would get you thrown in jail, or worse. We are not one of those countries.

Some people believe that saying anything negative about the current administration, or about what it is doing, is being unpatriotic. That sentiment has become more popular since the horrific events of September 11, 2001.

Patriotism is taking advantage of the freedoms that this wonderful country affords us.

Patriotism is loving our country enough to be concerned about the direction it is going in.

Patriotism is taking the time to think of a better way, and sharing it with others.

Saying that I disagree with George W. Bush's administration, and with the decisions that Bush and his people have made, is not unpatriotic. It is expressing a heartfelt opinion - and thousands of Americans have died to give us this freedom.

What is unpatriotic is trying to censor other people in the name of patriotism!! Calling people demeaning names ("liberals" is one of my favorites) and trying to shut them up is not patriotic - and it is not the American way. In the America I know, we listen to other people, even if we disagree, and then we respond in a respectful way. Our Founding Fathers declared independence from King George precisely to grant us these - and other - important rights.

We are at a defining moment in our nation's history. With the Bush administration doing damage that will take up to 50 years to repair, we need to take a long look at who we are as a country. What is America? What do we stand for? Are we a country where vital government appointments go to political cronies with no relevant experience? Are we a country where we make "friends" with countries that sponsor terrorism - just so we can buy oil? Are we a country that launches unprovoked attacks on other nations in the name of "preemptive war"? Are we a country where we listen to different points of view - or are we a country where those who don't agree with the official government position are labeled as "unpatriotic", "liberals", or worse? Are we really a nation of freedom, or is that just a catchphrase?

The Crises Facing Our Country

Our country has changed in so many ways in the past 50 years. We have become more culturally diverse as a nation, and technology has allowed us to communicate with people on the other side of the world in real time - almost as though they were across the street from us. The oceans that surround us no longer separate us from the rest of the world. The interdependence of the modern world is something we cannot avoid.

There are a number of important issues that face us now, and the decisions we make as a society regarding the issues will define who we are as a country. I'll go over some of them here.

EDUCATION

One of the most important issues facing us is how we educate our children. Fifty years ago, we were one of the top countries in the world in terms of education. Now we rank below most other post-industrial countries in terms of what our children know and the careers they are prepared for.

Why is this? What has gone wrong?

I believe that one of the problems is a focus on memorization and obedience rather than on critical thinking. We learn important things in math, science, history, and other subjects not because it is important to memorize these things, but because important life skills come out of these areas!! History is important to learn so we don't repeat mistakes made in the past. Science is important to learn so we understand how the universe works, and how we can best steward our planet. Math is important to learn so that we can solve life problems - like balancing a checkbook, negotiating a business transaction, et cetera.

The emphasis should be placed on SKILLS and KNOWLEDGE, not FACTS. Knowing who started World War II is less important than understanding why it started. Memorizing the periodic table is less important than understanding the effects of carbon dioxide on our atmosphere. And even where we are asking our children to memorize facts, they are not doing it as well as they used to. When half of all high school seniors cannot find their home state on a map of the United States, we know we are in trouble.

I would argue that helping students understand - not just memorize - what they are learning will result in more effective teaching and learning. Why not ask students to tell us why they think World War II started? Why not have exercises in decision making, such as asking students to decide what they would do if they were John F. Kennedy in the Cuban Missile Crisis, or if they were Franklin D. Roosevelt after Pearl Harbor? We are training the next generation of leaders in our country, and some of them will have to make these decisions.

HEALTH CARE

We are truly facing a crisis in our health care system. A network of for-profit companies are in charge of our health, and as many of us have experienced, the responsibility to pay dividends to stockholders often trumps the responsibility to care for the citizens whose lives are entrusted to these companies. We are the ONLY advanced country on Earth that has no universal health care system. The health insurance industry is a racket, and the losers are the American people - at least those who don't own stock in a health insurance company.

"Well," people often say, national health services are terrible. "People in Canada, Great Britain, and elsewhere get off of the National Health Service and get a private doctor whenever they can afford it." Well, even if that is true, there are millions of people who cannot afford health insurance, and who are left out in the cold. A national health service would, at the least, serve as a safety net for people who have no other options. There is NO excuse for pregnant women not receiving prenatal care, for children not getting the medical care they need, and for elderly people being stuck with thousands of dollars in medical bills that they cannot pay. If we are as civilized a country as we say we are, then we need to make sure that our citizens are cared for.

I would be willing to pay more taxes if it meant that my fellow citizens and I would be covered in the event of a major medical emergency, if it meant that no sick child would go untreated, and if it meant that no senior citizen would be kicked out of a nursing home because her or his insurance benefit had expired. Never again would a barely-conscious person be asked - in an ambulance, no less - whether she or he had health insurance. Never again would parents of sick children have to beg strangers for money to pay for the care that their child needs. I would be willing to pay more taxes if these horrible, inexcusable things were guaranteed never to happen again.

Would you?

IMMIGRATION

Our nation was founded on immigration. Everyone in this country who is not a full-blooded Native American is a product of immigration. Immigrants have been the lifeblood of this country for over 200 years - and in many cases, they are willing to do the types of jobs that Americans are less willing to do. Whether it was the Irish working on the railroads in the 1800s, East European immigrants working in sweat shops in the early 1900s, or Latin American and Asian immigrants overcoming the odds today, America has always been a place where people could build their dreams.

The bottom line is that we need a sensible immigration policy. We, as a nation of people, need to decide how we want to welcome newcomers to our country.

The issue of illegal immigration is a "hot button" today. Like many Americans, I have mixed feelings about illegal immigration. We are a nation of laws, and I wholeheartedly agree that we should not reward people for breaking the law. At the group level, "they" should not be here.

At the individual level, though, I must admit that I feel differently. I remember going to Tijuana almost 10 years ago and seeing the desperation on people's faces. I remember a little girl, not more than five years old, begging for money in the street. I remember people looking wistfully over the border to California, knowing that life would be so much better there.

I have a friend who came here as an illegal immigrant. He escaped a dictatorial, genocidal regime in Latin America and hitched rides all the way to Mexico, not knowing whether he would survive the journey. He swam across the Rio Grande and laid low in California for several years. He eventually married a U.S. citizen and is now a citizen himself - and a university professor.

When this man told me his story, it was clear that he didn't have much of a choice but to flee his country. The police had barged into his house in the middle of the night several times and had threatened to kill his entire family. The United States, however, had just received a large wave of immigrants and refugees from this country and was not willing to give my friend a visa at that time. So he risked his life to come here, and then he sent for his mother, father, brother, and sister.

Stories like this make me - and others, I'm sure - think differently about illegal immigrants than just labeling them as a bunch of criminals. My father asked me once, "Why do these people come here when they should stay in their own countries and solve the problems there?" This is a great question - but it assumes that these people have the ability to affect change in their home countries. In many Third World countries, either you are filthy rich or you are dirt poor. And the poor have no power - none at all. Peasants in Latin America have as much chance of changing the social systems there as I do of winning the lottery. It's possible, but it isn't likely.

So, you see, there are two dramatically opposing sides to this debate. There is the "group" level, where we are the concerned citizens and they are the lawbreakers. And then there is the "individual" level, where stories like my friend's make us think again.

What is the solution to this? I cannot say that I have an answer, but I suspect that the most viable solution lies in reexamining our legal immigration policies. Are we letting in as many people as we could or should? Are people getting in within a reasonable period of time? And are we being fair about letting in people from different countries - or are we playing favorites? I don't have the answers, but whetever the answers are, we should take another look. We are a country of laws, but we are also a country of compassion - or at least we used to be.

IN CLOSING

What do YOU think America should be? Are we closer to that goal than we were 10, 15, or 20 years ago, or are we further away? If you had your choice, who would the next president be? What policies do we need to put into place to become the country that our people want us to be? How do we recover from the disastrous Iraq war, the moralistic divisiveness that pervades our nation, and the loss of respect from the rest of the world? Remember that America has led the world for more than 50 years, and the examples that we set will greatly influence what others choose to do.

If we announce that we have the right to strike any country, at any time, that we think is a threat to us, what example does that set for other nations? Will that create more peace among us - or will it hasten our extinction from this planet? (It only takes the wrong group, with the wrong set of weapons, to destroy most of life on this planet as we know it.)

If our president says one thing and does another, what example does that set for the world? If you were in another country, what would you think of the United States today?

As Benjamin Barber says in his book Fear's Empire, we cannot go it alone in an interdependent world. Everything that happens in one part of the planet affects everything else, everywhere else. The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica didn't come from activities occurring there - it came from what was being done on other parts of the planet. We truly are in an interdependent world, and for us to restore our rightful place as leader, we need to set the appropriate examples.

Will we do this? Or will we continue spiraling downward?

Only WE can answer that question.