on patriotism and citizenship

This post is going to be about as political as I get. So let's just start out acknowledging that I am not a politically savvy person. I don't keep up with the issues and the talking heads. The very language of politics demonstrates just how much it is a game: campaigns are "races," candidates "win" instead of being elected, and after every debate all the intellectuals get together to discuss the minute details of every word and physical movement and who made which mistake and when. I find it all rather absurd. What happened to being a public servant? What has happened to humility?

Having lived the last year and a half outside of my country, one of the areas in which I have I have noticed a rather large shift within myself has been my identity in terms of nationality. Before leaving I held the cynical view of Americans that many young people going off to another country in search of something substantial tend to have, but still had not questioned much of the rhetoric that I had heard over and over since childhood (*in deep, pompous voice* The US is the greatest country in the world, etc...).

But after spending two Independence Days in Mexico, I noticed an enormous difference between the displays of patriotism in the two countries. In Mexico, I did not find a sentiment of superiority but a simple sense of pride that was not dependent upon comparing themselves to anyone else. I liked that. I still like it. However, when I made this remark to my professor once, she responded that if the Mexican people were truly patriotic, they would not do some of the things that they do; they would not accept and contribute to corruption, even through actions so small as paying off an officer with 50 pesos so as to not receive a traffic citation; they would care for the land and the natural resources that they have; they would not litter...and so on.

It took me all of a few seconds to realize that she was right. I had never made that connection between patriotism and citizenship before really. And while I still prefer Mexican patriotism to American, seeing patriotism simply as a demonstration of the affection one has for the lovely and good attributes of their culture only makes us stagnant.

Now, it doesn't matter whether you are a Barack Obama supporter or not, but one thing that I think everyone can get behind is his call to everyone to restore this country, that this is not just HIS job, but that of every citizen and resident. Crying out that "we cannot walk alone" and hearkening back to the visions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., our new President understands that a country is not defined by the potency of its government but rather the character of its people. We must take responsibility for more than pursuing our own individual successes.

On the day before Dr. King was assassinated he said he had been to the mountaintop and that he had seen the Promised Land and rather prophetically acknowledged that he may not arrive there with everyone else, but that it was possible. But earlier in his speech he used the story of the Good Samaritan to illustrate the responsibility we all have to each other.

For those not familiar with this story, a man travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho was robbed, beaten, and left for dead on the side of the road. Dr. King remarked, when travelling this very road, at what a dangerous journey it was. Others travelling along this path did not stop to help until this one Samaritan who claimed the responsibility, finding someone to care for him, and paying for all of the expenses of restoring him to health. Dr. King preached that the Samaritan did not ask himself the question that likely all the others had put to themselves: "What will happen to me if I help this man?" but instead asked himself, "What will happen to him if I don't help him?" What a counter-cultural thought!

But not even in the time of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was this theme revolutionary. It seems to pop up during crucial times throughout history. Read an account given by Jane Addams of the mindset of people during emancipation:

"...they too had realized that if this last tremendous experiment in
self-government failed here, it would be the disappointment of the centuries and
that upon their ability to organize self-government in state, county, and town
depended the verdict of history. These men also knew, as Lincoln himself
did, that if this tremendous experiment was to come to fruition, it must be
brought about by the people themselves; that there was no other capital fund
upon which to draw."

But why must we wait for a crisis (though it would be hard to deny that we certainly have the makings of one right now) to wake up? What would happen if we were continually alert and had the mindset that "the verdict of history" depended upon us?

So how do we do this? I can't fix the economy. I can't stop wars. I can't (...).

You can't do anything if you only look at the big picture. Look locally, but look past your own front door. Don't passively go to your job and then come back home. Consider some of the following...and imagine some of your own.

• Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.
• Think about an issue that gets you riled up. Find a community organization that addresses it. Volunteer.
• Know your strengths so you know what you have to offer.
• Be a foster parent.
• Adopt a child.
• Mentor.
• "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, Love your neighbor as yourself." ~ Luke 10:27
• Don't create or permit drama because you are bored. Diffuse situations. "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." ~ Romans 12:18
• Vote.
• Be empathetic.
• Speak truth.
• Tell the truth.
• Guard your eyes and your ears.
• Don't guard your heart...too much.
• Give money to someone that asks you for it on the street if you can. Don't worry too much about what they are going to do with it. There is no way to know and it does not serve you to be suspicious of someone.
• Don't allow yourself to be complacent and bored. It will eat you alive.

Anyhow, these thoughts have been going on around in my head for a while. They came out kinda jumbled; sorry about that.