Last night, I watched the Brooklyn Cylcones (the Mets' farm team, class A) beat the Hudson Valley Renegades 4-2 at Coney Island. Afterwards, fireworks out over the water behind the old parachute drop kept us all happy and, I suspect, glad to be Americans.
The game was a good one. The winning pitcher, Jeramy Simmons, struck out four in a row at one point--and reliever Tim Haines, a side-armer looked as strange as only a side-armer can, got the save. Center fielder Joe Holden started off the game with the only home run of the night.
KeySpan park, while not quite of the caliber of Blair County Ballpark in Altoona, PA (by far the best minor-league ballpark I've been in), imitates it by also looking out over a rollercoaster--this one the famous Cyclone of Coney Island. At both parks, part of the fun is visiting an old amusement park before the game.
They were preparing for today's hot-dog-eating contest at Nathan's, and the crowd was relaxed and friendly--and diverse. One heard Spanish frequently, and other tongues, and saw Americans of every size, shape, and color.
As I made my way back to central Brooklyn, the experience and joy of the evening made me think again with anger of the people who are trying to hijack from me the America I saw there at Coney Island. The people who claim that we, on the left, hate America.
Who are they, to think that they can define just what America is? This country is greater than any viewpoint; this country is diversity and difference struggling against and then for each other. America isn't George Bush or his policies, but a nation of individuals, a wild bunch of bustling and contentious immigrants from every corner of the world.
America isn't just those of us who are here, but everyone who wants to come here and be a part of it. We're not "full," but still hang out the "vacancy" sign--and for a reason: to a real American, there's always room at the table for one more.
I love this country, and I resent anyone who says otherwise simply because I don't love those who have taken our government away from the people.
For it's the people who make America, and not the government.
Happy Independence Day, America! May you have many, many more.