I have more to say

My last post was too short...

You see, the last 8 years of our government have at its core endeavored to control all of us with fear, treat us like idiots and steal from us. Our president didn't even feel the need to answer our questions and only talked to us if he felt like he absolutely had to. Our civil liberties were eroded in the name of homeland security and yet we were less secure within our borders than ever before. Natural disasters went practically unnoticed while we sent our National Guard to foreign shores to fight a war backed by lies. We as a people were held in contempt, looked down on, ignored and in this age of mass communication nobody in the world was blind to it.

I talked to someone who is British. We were talking about the election and I asked, "Why do you care about our election? We don't follow the elections of other countries with this much interest but it seems the whole world is on the edge of their seats about ours." He answered, "Because weather we like it or not, the United States is the military and economic leader of the world, and what you do æffects all of us." This reminded me of the world electoral map, a hypothetical "if the world could vote" map based on polling each country.

I have said before how ashamed I was of our government. Every time I saw an American flag I was reminded of that fact. I served in our armed forces, proudly. I was happy to hear the Pledge of Allegiance, the Star Spangled Banner and all that other patriotic stuff. The last two terms though, I couldn't bear to hear it or see it. Every little thing that happened further eroded my pride for my country and every reminder of it made me sick. Now again, after finally seeing off these wicked men I look at the flags, now becoming more common in Santa Cruz, and hearing the chant of "USA!", I now breathe in and smile. It is as if the weight has been lifted and I can stop hiding from what I am, a citizen of the United States of America. Today at the end of the inauguration I heard our national anthem and my eyes did not stay entirely dry. It's been a long time.

I don't think it is a good time to speculate on what President Obama will do for us. He has his own challenges to overcome. I give him my support and wish him all the best. A quick note though, during his beautiful speech there was a nod to atheists. It was very nice to be acknowledged as an equal by the president. It's been a couple hundred years since that happened.

UPDATE: There is a parade downtown. Things like this make me love this town.





-Aaron