I can’t think of many things that are perfect. Or if something is perfect to one person it’s not to someone else. A famous work of art can inspire millions while others wonder what everyone sees in it.
Even families aren’t perfect. You can love your siblings, your cousins, your parents and yet fight all the time. Your children can drive you mad even though you’d do anything for them.
Something doesnt have to be perfect to be loved. In fact the imperfections can be what makes us love it more. Or yearn to make it better.
That’s what America is to me. An imperfect work in progress. Something that I love so dearly, that I would fight for till my last breath, and yet can drive me mad constantly.
So when you say Love It Or Leave It you must not understand how much I love it. How much I am willing to fight for it.
America is 300 million people all wanting different things at different times with different opinions and beliefs. And if we are going to find a way to continue as a nation than we need to come to the realization that America is not perfect. Far from it. It was born imperfect with the desire for freedom for all men except those of color. Yes, even our founding fathers were imperfect. Counting persons of color as only 3/5 of a white man.
Our country has slaughtered Native Americans by the millions, stole their land, murdered black men in the street, told women they couldn’t vote, that they are subservient to men. We have told homosexuals they couldnt have the same rights as straight people. The list of awful things done by our country is long and painful to read.
Yet we must. We must all read it. We must all acknowledge the evil that we have done so that we may never do it again.
It is ok to criticize something you love. It is ok to admit the flaws in something you care about. It is ok to point out imperfection in order to make it better. America is a beautiful, wonderful, inspiring, terrifying, imperfect country. Criticizing it is not unamerican.
So when you say Love It Or Leave It you must not understand. Or you choose to ignore what is right in front of you.
America is my home. I will never stop trying to make it better. And lately it is reminding me that we have a long way to go to perfection. Yet when you love something, you fight for it. Imperfections and all.
America to Me
