68 million people (and bot accounts) follow Kim Kardashian. 68 million follow Trump. 71 Million follow Ellen Degeneres. 107 Million follow Obama. He’s still out there making a difference post presidency. This reminds me that hope is not a temporary salve but instead the beating engine behind all change. I needed that thought, because I spent some time following the Fox Soccer feed trying to keep up on the score of the USWNT game in which they won their 4th World Cup. I’m, so happy and proud of that group of women. However, most of that nasty Fox feed was people hating on the team simply because they won’t go to the White House. Somehow that protest of Trump makes them Unamerican to those who object. That right there is why I needed a lift. See, I am learning again and again that the idea of America is different for most people in it. We don’t share a singular vision or idea of what it means to be American. We are a divided people because we are divided in our understanding of who deserves freedom, who deserves to be here, and who should be on top, in charge, and even have jobs. The firewall of the internet only intensifies this, because we are all free to hide behind our screens and either say what is lurking in the dark corners of our minds, or troll out on people simply to get a rise out of them.
Is anyone genuine anymore? Is anyone accountable?
I’m feeling less and less like we are. If things go wrong we blame and scream and cuss and complain, but we don’t take accountability for our own actions and feelings. It isn’t getting better with the younger generations and that, for me, points to the downfall of our country.
To me America is a refuge. It is a place to act on your on religious and social freedoms so long as those freedoms do no harm to others. To me being American is more about understanding it is your responsibility to stand up against oppression of all kinds than it is to wear colors on your body.
Maybe I’m just a different kind of American.