my politics...

I am catching up with the DNC and I wrote this post the other night. I have hesitated on posting it because I do not write much in depth about my personal politics on this blog. I feel passionately about this but it is still difficult to post here. I have decided I cannot NOT post it so here it is.



I just watched Michelle Obama's speech. In tears of course. And the thing I kept being struck with was how she still believed in the United States of America.

First off I will say I do like Obama, a lot, I have always been his supporter for this election, from before he even declared he was running. I think he is the best chance for this country for sure. I will be casting my vote this November for him. But here is the thing, this country, I do not believe in it any more. And I do not say this lightly. I say this with sad pain and tears.

I say this knowing that many many of my fellow countrymen do not believe I am an equal citizen. Obama does not even believe I am an equal citizen worth equal rights under the law. I say this knowing that many of my fellow countrymen believe it is ok to bomb other countries for possessing the exact weapons of mass destruction we have in abundance, and ok to bomb countries with lies saying they have such weapons even though it is only for the oil they rightfully own.

I say this knowing that greed, machismo, selfishness, and violence are lauded here while feeling, and helping those less fortunate or who have had less opportunities is considered weak. I say this knowing that education is not a priority, that even supplying enough books to classrooms takes a back seat to building new sports arena's and padding local politicians pockets.

I say it looking at how we became this country, at how we treated this land and those who inhabited it long before we did and how we still treat those people today. I say it knowing how we treat the land still and how we tell ourselves we are the center of the universe from our little sheltered bubble of ignorance and intolerance.

I grew up extremely patriotic. The 4th of July was our biggest holiday in our home and becoming old enough to vote was equal to getting to drive. But it was a rhetoric kind of patriotism that our current president lives for and my pathetically racist, homophobic, intolerant father preached from birth to disownment.

I woke up, finally, and spent many years working for just causes trying hard to cleanse my karma for my sadly brainwashed childhood and early adulthood. I grew wiser and more aware and had hope for change and gave my time and energy to help create that change.

But then I had a child, a male child, and everything changed. I became so acutely aware how much less of a person I was considered here. I became acutely aware how much of a real possibility that there would be more war mongering idiots in positions of power and making my son serve in a war in the future.

I didn't want to raise my kid where his mother was viewed as less than from the get to. I didn't want to raise my son where he could be forced to kill innocent people for profit. I didn't want to raise him where all the things I was repulsed by the most were considered virtues.

And I lost faith in this country. So I did the work and have got the immigration papers and very soon will leave this country. But it hurts, and it is sad and it is not always easy.