From a Distance

Happy Independence Day. This photo was taken when I was on a trip to D.C. this past March. I am in a somber mood this July 4th. I am feeling the weight of the arrogance of the United States. Before I say anything else, I'm glad I was born in the U.S. and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else (maybe Canada, but I don't really know that much about Canada). I consider myself very fortunate. I grew up in the D.C. area and there is no more moving place to watch fireworks on the 4th of July than standing on the Washington Mall with the Capitol behind you and the Washington Monument in front as the backdrop for the fireworks.

However, when celebrating the "home of the free and the brave" my patriotism is sometimes tempered by thoughts of what we took away from the Native Americans to make this the U.S. and what we try to impose on others. We are really a bullying lot. We take what we want and find a way to justify it later.

Yesterday, I was listening to a Nanci Griffith CD on the way home and she sings a version of "From a Distance." As I sang along, I found myself getting choked up. "From a distance you look like my friend even though we are at war." I have been against invading Iraq since the beginning. I do not believe in forcing our beliefs on other peoples. We are (mostly) happy with our democracy and therefore, we assume others must want it, too. (I know there are a lot of other complex reasons for the war), but the reason we have Independence Day is because a majority of people who settled in the US. wanted independence, wanted a different form of government. That cannot be forced on people and succeed. It has to come from within. People must rise up and demand it. Seems to me in Iraq we went there and said you have a bad leader, we're sure you would want to do things our way. We'll get rid of your leader and then you'll be free to "have it our way." Any surprise it is not working? This is the kind of imposed government that our ancestors fought against. We want the freedom to create the kind of government we want and we're willing to fight and die for it. It just doesn't work if you impose it from the outside. So, I am sad. I believe we have made life worse for millions of Iraqi citizens and there is no chance we can repair the damage we've done. I respect our troops and cherish their belief in doing what their country needs of them, but I hate to see one more person die for a situation that I do not see improving whether we leave tomorrow or 10 years from now. So, Happy 4th of July. Yes; I'm glad to be an American, but look forward to a time when we have wiser leadership and that will only happen when we become wiser ourselves.