2006-07-04
Proud(ish) to be an American
On June 19, two American soldiers in Iraq were abducted, mutilated, and killed. All across the United States, Americans bought patriotic bumper stickers and cursed the Iraqi ingrates who continue to bite the hand that feeds them.
Today, if you happen to be living in the United States, read your newspaper. Buried somewhere in the back, behind pages Independence Day parade guides and flag care tips, you will find an article which you should bear in mind as you celebrate the 4th of July.
Before the abduction and murder of the American checkpoint soldiers came a different crime. An Iraqi civilian family, two girls and their parents, was murdered by a group of American soldiers so that the four men could rape the older daughter. And now the twist: the four American soldiers came from the same platoon as the men who were murdered on June 19th.
If you believe in coincidence, you could write this off as a random twist of fate. But I don't.
We don't stand on a moral highground simply because we live in the United States. Actions have repurcussions, even if you are the nation that penned the Declaration of Independence and (later) invented the Double-Stuf Oreo.
A little patriotism is a good thing; I will be out there lighting fireworks with the rest of the United States today. So, this 4th of July, celebrate. Play baseball and eat apple pie and binge drink and do all of those things that are intrinsically American.
But remember also that it's very difficult to see the truth if you've got the flag tied around your eyes.
zebrasaur at 10:23 a.m.
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