To be an American.
This convention also made me proud to be a Democrat.
Seriously.
The wild-eyed right-wingers keep hammering home the idea that WE DEMOCRATS ARE NOT REAL AMERICANS. Oh, if you're black, or from Mexican descent, or Puerto Rican, or your family is from Asia or India, or God forbid Iran!! Or you are gay, or you have an abortion, or you need to be on disability, or if you don't make enough money or if you don't go to the right church.. You aren't a REAL AMERICAN.
Frankly the talk has affected me. I have gotten discouraged, started to believe it. I don't fit in at all with the "white bread" life. I was not born into a Christian household, but it was a feminist one. I have been raped. I have had an abortion. My rights as a woman are paramount to me. My right to self-determination. So.. Sometimes when I hear all the hate-talk I wonder to myself if this is the right country for me. Do I really fit in here?
What Obama said at the end.. That's its about all of us.. And seeing everyone in the crowd at the convention- All so different.. Made me proud to be an American again, and proud to be a Democrat, and see that yes, I do fit in. We all fit in.
Years ago, I traveled in Europe: France, Italy, England and Belgium. I had a great time, but it's different.. The French were so... Um French. In various regions, everyone had the same heritage. It's lovely in many ways to be connected to your heritage like that, I guess. I was a bit envious of them for having knowledge of their great-great-great grandparents and connection to a place. My heritage is all over the map. I am not rooted like that.. America is different. From the beginning (Well, with a hat tip to Native Americans.) WE WERE ALL IMMIGRANTS.
WE ARE HERE BECAUSE SOMEONE IN OUR FAMILY HAD A DREAM AND MADE A CHOICE. WE ARE BOUND TOGETHER NOT BY OUR RACE OR HERITAGE, OR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS BUT BY OUR DREAMS, AND OUR WILLINGNESS TO TAKE A CHANCE AND COME TO A NEW COUNTRY. TO BE PART OF A GRAND EXPERIMENT.
At the time of my European trip, I was living in New York City, near the village. I remember the first day I was back in the US.
I went down to Washington Square Park.
And there, with the hip-hoppers, and the chess players
and the skateboarders, and the hip people, and the homeless
and unusual people
and the NYU students,
and the dog walkers,
and the Wall street business types -I entered a kind of bliss state.
I remember counting languages I heard as I sat there. I heard Spanish, English, Arabic and Hebrew, and various accented English, Carribean accents, French accents and of course Bronx and New Jersey accents.
I looked around on this goregeous spring day in the city.. Everyone eating lunch, and listening to street music,
and just all getting along...
A bliss that descended on me. And I thought. "Yes, I am an American. This is my country, all of it. I love it. I'm HOME."
That's how I felt again at the end of Obama's speech. And that's how I felt listening to the Democratic convention. And that's really how I feel about this country. And I think its high time we stopped letting the haters tell us that WE AREN'T REAL AMERICANS. It's time we took this country back, and we took the word "American" back from people who want to tell every citizen of this country exactly who is a real American and who isn't.
Because we all are REAL Americans. Every last citizen - Every one of us. Even, to my dismay, Republicans.
And I for one, am not going to let anyone tell me otherwise anymore.
Thu Sep 06, 2012 at 11:51 PM PT: UPDATE- Just saw the email from Obama. Title I hope I did you proud.
https://donate.barackobama.com/...
Let's go win.
ahahaha - I guess I was on the wavelength.