Anybody who knows me knows that I wouldn’t be considered the most patriotic person. It’s not that I don’t love my country, it’s just that I have some pretty big problems with some of the things that being an American stands for. I won’t get into it because it will just become a completely subjective point of contention. Suffice it to say, I don’t always appreciate the disposition America possesses.
But do I love America? Absolutely.
It’s an incredible nation; diverse, beautiful and brimming with opportunity. It is a country with so many sins to bear yet so many triumphs to revere.
At the end of the day, I realize that I don’t truly have a strong sense of national pride, for many reasons, but I do respect this nation and I most certainly venerate our men and women in uniform. I do not condone war, at all, but those willing to put their lives on the line in defense of our great nation deserve our support, whether or not an individual agrees with the decisions made by our government.
Lately, I’ve become almost obsessed with this Walt Whitman poem, perhaps now best known from the new Levi’s ads. I absolutely love it:
COME my tan-faced children,
Follow well in order, get your weapons ready,
Have you your pistols? have you your sharp-edged axes?
Pioneers! O pioneers!
For we cannot tarry here,
We must march my darlings, we must bear the brunt of danger,
We the youthful sinewy races, all the rest on us depend,
Pioneers! O pioneers!
O you youths, Western youths,
So impatient, full of action, full of manly pride and friendship,
Plain I see you Western youths, see you tramping with the foremost,
Pioneers! O pioneers!
Have the elder races halted?
Do they droop and end their lesson, wearied over there beyond the
seas?
We take up the task eternal, and the burden and the lesson,
Pioneers! O pioneers!
All the past we leave behind,
We debouch upon a newer mightier world, varied world,
Fresh and strong the world we seize, world of labor and the march,
Pioneers! O pioneers!
For me, this poem speaks of the responsibility and beauty of the youth of our nation. There is something so raw about the words. Something pleading yet strong, sure and proud; even in light of our transgressions. For me, it is a reminder that it is and will always be the responsibility of the next generation to improve America; to build upon the meritorious foundation set by our predecessors. Does that mean we all need to attach American flags to our cars? No. But I do believe it means that our inspirations and motivations should extend beyond our personal gain, our own goals. As citizens, what we do reflects our entire community and it is in that vain, in tandem with our own ambitions, that we should strive to succeed and to create, as Whitman calls it, a mightier world, a varied world.
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