I’ve always considered myself to be a patriotic person. I proudly display an American flag on my porch 365 days a year. My front door decoration, except on specific holidays, is always something in red, white and blue. I sing along with the National Anthem whenever it is played, and stand tall and proud in settings where it is being played. And I’ve always said that I am proud to be an American.

All of that is still true today, July 4th, 2020. But it comes with some mixed emotion this year. I am proud to be an American, but I am not proud of America. I value and treasure the freedoms afforded me by living in this country, and I salute the many who have served and are serving for their selfless dedication to protect our country and its people. But the political turmoil in this great country leaves me with a very bitter aftertaste. Add to that political turmoil the turmoil of the people themselves – riots and lootings and desecrating property and physical brutality – and I will state again that I am not proud of America.

It’s bad enough that the current pandemic has us in a sense of being isolated. But when I look at the things that are happening out there, there is a second meaning to home being the safest place to be. People are being moved off a church property for a photo op. The entire police force of our nation is being chastised because of a few bad cops. Some people are taking advantage of the ‘extra’ income incentive in unemployment payments by refusing to return to work. And racism has reared its ugly head again as though we’ve never gotten past it in the past 40+ years since it first reared its ugly head.

Does anyone really remember 9/11? I mean, really remember it? In those hours, days and weeks and even months, our country’s people came together despite race, sexual preference, religion, political beliefs and all of the other things that can – and do – divide us. All that mattered is that we were Americans banding together for our fellow Americans and helping each other in whatever ways we could! Where did those people disappear to?

As terrible as it sounds to even say, I sometimes wonder if we need another 9/11 to happen in order for us to truly come together again. And yet, I wonder if we’ve reached the point where banding together like that will never happen again. I mean, will rescuers look at the skin color of a victim and decide whether or not to assist that person based on the skin color? Will members of either political party ask a victim to which party they belong before deciding to assist them? Will people be asked their sexual preferences before deciding if a person is worthy of being helped? What needs to happen in this country in order for us to be the united that is a part of our country’s name?

Our country needs fixing. It may well need a big upheaval of some kind to turn us back from our hatred of people who are different from us. I have friends in other countries around the world who see what’s going on here and feel SORRY for us! So how is it possible to be proud of America???

I realize this isn’t one of those ideal posts celebrating Independence Day. I think it would be awesome of me for apologizing for that. But I’m not sorry – – I’m sorry that we are where we are and have no apparent desire to make the changes necessary to overcome it. And that’s just how it is today, Independence Day, 2020.