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I love America. I love the landscapes, and the food, and the music, and the cities. And the people, even the ones who want me dead, or at least my marriage dissolved.
And also, my country was founded on genocide and slavery. And then the people who profited from those things came up with dehumanizing philosophies to justify them, and those philosophies were written into our laws and our religions and are still there now.
I have been fighting those philosophies for my whole life, and as I get older, I just fight harder. And in this, I am joining a line of heroes going back to the country’s founding and before, who have been fighting—and sometimes winning—all along. They are my proud heritage, and none of us would have to do this if the country weren’t so fucked up in the first place.
One of the founding documents of our country says that all men—men—are created equal. The other says that some men are only worth 3/5ths of other men.
I would not be alive if this country did not exist to give refuge to my ancestors. This country would not exist if millions of people had not been killed and tortured. I am not sorry to be alive.
It’s complicated.
It's home.
So I’m gonna take today to honor that complicatedness. I’m gonna eat some veggie burgers and corn-on-the-cob, and spend time with friends and family, and watch my baby’s very first fireworks. And I’m gonna call the president of the United States and tell him he’s being a shithead and to not take away people’s healthcare. And maybe then listen to Hamilton.
Let’s keep enjoying the good things about America, and let’s keep fighting the bad things. Let’s see what we can do to make this country the place it pretends to be—the place it wishes it were. Let’s celebrate, and rest, and resist.
It’s the patriotic thing to do.
And also, my country was founded on genocide and slavery. And then the people who profited from those things came up with dehumanizing philosophies to justify them, and those philosophies were written into our laws and our religions and are still there now.
I have been fighting those philosophies for my whole life, and as I get older, I just fight harder. And in this, I am joining a line of heroes going back to the country’s founding and before, who have been fighting—and sometimes winning—all along. They are my proud heritage, and none of us would have to do this if the country weren’t so fucked up in the first place.
One of the founding documents of our country says that all men—men—are created equal. The other says that some men are only worth 3/5ths of other men.
I would not be alive if this country did not exist to give refuge to my ancestors. This country would not exist if millions of people had not been killed and tortured. I am not sorry to be alive.
It’s complicated.
It's home.
So I’m gonna take today to honor that complicatedness. I’m gonna eat some veggie burgers and corn-on-the-cob, and spend time with friends and family, and watch my baby’s very first fireworks. And I’m gonna call the president of the United States and tell him he’s being a shithead and to not take away people’s healthcare. And maybe then listen to Hamilton.
Let’s keep enjoying the good things about America, and let’s keep fighting the bad things. Let’s see what we can do to make this country the place it pretends to be—the place it wishes it were. Let’s celebrate, and rest, and resist.
It’s the patriotic thing to do.
