Yesterday I dressed B in her July 4th outfit: an American flag print dress (over white onesie and sweat pants). Now this is kind of outfit that made me gag a little just a few months ago. When she first wore it I found it cute (after all, what outfit isn't cute on an infant) but a little obnoxious and indicative of the kind of family I was working for (ie. Republican). But yesterday I was excited to vote, and proud to live in a country where I am free to exercise that right and responsibility, so I dressed B for the momentous occasion. I found myself reclaiming the truth that our flag is not representative only of the kind of patriots who hang pictures of George W. in their homes and sing God Bless America in church and want to build a wall and bring Democracy and capitalism to every nation whether they want it or not - in short the Republican Christian Right. The flag is also representative of the kind of patriots who finally blast through apathy and cynicism en masse and pave the way for historic and much-needed change. A few weeks ago I was explaining patriotism to N and told him that his parents are very patriotic. When he asked whether I am patriotic I had to search for diplomatic words that would satisfy him and not offend his parents if he talked about it at dinner. I told him that there are many ways of showing patriotism, and that voting is one of the most important of them. I woke up this morning with excitement and hope still fresh, and for the first time in my adult life I can honestly say that I am proud to be an American. I won't go putting flags all over my stuff or replacing my current wallpaper with a photo of Barack Obama. I still prefer to maintain some degree of critical distance, never confusing the fact that my citizenship is in heaven from whence I await the return of my savior Jesus Christ. But when I travel abroad and people ask where I am from, I probably won't lie and say Canada any more.
