American Idealism

I am an American.

Here is what that means. No matter if you’re a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian or other political belief system, I will not stand for someone violating your right to life, liberty or the pursuit of happiness. If someone threatens you, they threaten me. In this country, we stand up for each other. You want to hurl racial epithets at my brother; you’re saying worse to me. You want to knock over the headstones of my sister’s ancestors in a cemetery, you’re defiling my family’s hallowed ground. You want to raise a weapon at a police officer; you’re pointing it at me, too. I am an American, and I stand for all Americans.

I am an American.

I expect my legal system to be respected. If you want to live here, I expect you to come here legally and apply for citizenship, not sneak across the border. But even if you sneak across the border, and some villainous scum decides to try to harm you, I will protect you. I would do the same for a visitor in my own home.  You are a visitor.  You are not a citizen.  And for that reason, I will not protect you or shield you from law enforcement if you violate our immigration laws, because I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution, and that requires me to yield to lawful authority and to assist in the apprehension of those who break the law.

I am an American, and I support the members of my armed forces. Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines and Coast Guard. I have marched with these men and women. I have served with these men and women. I have bled with them.  I’ve slogged through mud with them.  I’ve run confidence courses with them.  I’ve eaten bad chow and drank good beer with them.  We have a bond you cannot understand unless you were there, alongside us, serving your country with us. You do not understand our shared sacrifices, the things we overcame to serve our country. So do not dishonor yourself by dishonoring our military. And do not give short shrift to the veterans. We’re one reason you have a First Amendment right to make an ass out of yourself.

I am an American, and I love my country. I put my country above my political party. I served under both Republicans and Democrats, and I never asked what my commander’s politics were before I obeyed an order. Because where country is concerned, party is secondary.  It is America First, not party first.

So I expect that people who are granted the honor of high office, like Congress, to respect the values I hold dear. I expect them to put the country before their party, and I expect them to ask first “will this initiative help my country” before asking “will it harm my party?”  Because if the answer to the first question is yes, then the answer to the second question doesn’t matter.

I expect Congressional representatives to show respect to the country. I expect that when the wife of a Navy Seal is honored with a seat at an address, and her husband’s ultimate sacrifice for the good of a grateful nation is recognized, for all members of Congress to stand for her, and to recognize that sacrifice. Because it could have been me. Or it could have been my brothers.

When you sit, you dishonor your country, your office, and your oath. You place yourself only slightly above plasmodial slime on the evolutionary ladder. You bring down the members of your party when you’re in a leadership position, and you show disrespect to the flag, the president, and the country.  If you had honor, you’d resign.

I am a Proud American!

There are many more like me. There are more of us who believe in this great country than there are who don’t believe.

We are the majority. We are the people who put you into office, and we can take you right back out.

In my youth the Democrats were the party of the working man. They cared about blue collar issues. They supported unions. They lifted up the humblest among us. They were for law and order. They were a force for good and for what was right.

Last year I left the Democratic Party, or more accurately, it left me. It became the party of Black Lives Matter More. It became the party of Only Muslims Have A Right to Free Exercise of Religion. It became the party of Seize the Guns. It became the party of the Illegal Immigrant. It became the party of The Refugee Invasion. I looked around and I did not recognize those on my right and left. I did not recognize the people on the stage at the Democratic National Convention. I realized I held almost no shared values with the Democratic Party other than a desire to see fewer hard-line anti-plaintiff judges appointed.  And while that was good for me, it was bad for my country, because weak judges erode freedoms.  So I put my country first.  I did what people do when there are hard choices.  I integrated my values with my choices.

The Democratic Party is now a collection of various lunatic fringe groups.  It’s Feminist Women marching in support of anti-feminist agendas like imprisoning women in black canvas.  Its Fascists claiming to be against exactly what they represent in order to bring down that which they do not understand or value.  It’s a corporate news media that has been paid for decades to trumpet a party line for one side without balance.  It is a party in search of a unifying message to bring these disparate elements together and competent leader to keep them from killing one another. If the antics of the party’s membership at the Joint Session of Congress last night is any indication, the Democratic Party is finished.