What does it mean to be American? To have the freedoms that we are so proud of in this country? No country or government is perfect, but perhaps we are too hard on our own country sometimes. Now, I am not a flag-waver, someone who is bleeds USA pride; in fact I am far from it. I am not saying I am not proud to be American, that is not it at all. I am grateful for the freedoms I have, that were bestowed on me the day I was born in the fine state of Illinois. For some reason, though, I believe that if you really believe in something, you can support it, believe in it without shoving it in the faces of everyone around you. You should live what you believe, show it by the way you live, not with things. For example, people who are proud to be American, so proud that they feel the need to drape the flag on everything they own, be it their car, their clothes, their hats and their décor. I am all for being proud of your country, and will definitely hang a flag when celebrating on the 4th of July, but I feel that the overboard displays of patriotism are not truly showing pride. I feel that they are somewhat of an embarrassment to our country and what it really stands for. I have never seen people in any other country do what we do as Americans. Of course, all nations are proud when celebrating their national holidays and at events like the Olympics or the World Cup, but only the US seems to wave the flag all day, every day, all over everything. I feel the same way about people who say that they support the troops and do so by covering their cars with those ridiculous magnetic ribbons. In my humble opinion, if you truly want to support our troops, the people who have dedicated their lives protecting us and defending our freedoms, there are much better ways to do it. Send them care packages, write to them, support their families here in your community. But, do you really think that the troops feel your support because you have a magnet on your car? Do you really think that by giving that $3.00 to the gas station on the corner, the troops are seeing that money and your support? Basically, you are just making yourself appear supportive without having to make much effort. And, those magnetic ribbons just look dumb on your car! I know it sounds harsh, but someone needed to say it!
Now, stepping down off my soapbox, back to what it really means to be American. Perhaps those of us who are American by birth take the basic concepts and freedoms for granted. Perhaps people who have to work so hard to become American truly understand what this country is supposed to be all about. Perhaps growing up in another place, under a completely different system of government makes you more aware of the small things that are America. I am thinking particularly of people like my Oma, Louise Michaud. My grandma became a US citizen about a week ago, after living in the US for close to 50 years. She came here, following a new husband, a man she knew only a short time, but knew that she loved. I can’t imagine what it was like for her, leaving her homeland, her family and venturing across the ocean to a new country, to America. She settled in Minnesota, a friendly state and learned English, picking up a great deal of it when my mother, her first child, was learning to talk. She has worked and paid taxes here since 1959 and has been a model citizen since then, but she wasn’t a citizen. She follows the laws, lives a good life, works hard, and supports this country and what it stands for, all while not being a citizen, not being given the same rights as most of the people around her. I would like to believe that she lived this way as an alien (legal mind you) because that is the type of woman she is, a strong, loving person, committed to raising her family, her children and grandchildren, to be good people, good Americans. I would also like to think that she has considered herself an American for a long time, and if you didn’t know she wasn’t a citizen, there really was no way for you to tell, aside from her German passport, tucked securely in my grandpa’s dresser drawer. I think my Oma knows what it means to be American, since she has been here, living as one for so long, without the official papers. She is now a citizen by choice, and I believe that for a person to choose to become a citizen of another country, they must truly believe in the ideals of that country, what is was founded on, what it fundamentally stands for. She has raised a family that is full of proud Americans, and those children have grown and passed that pride and patriotism on to their children. As one of those grandchildren, the oldest of them, I feel that my occasional cynicism towards our country is balanced by the pride I feel for my grandma and her being one of our country’s newest citizens. Perhaps many Americans, myself included, forget what our country is supposed to be about, what the ideals of the founders really were. I know at least one person who won’t forget what it means to be American anytime soon, and I am proud to call her Oma.
This was written in early November 2008, just after my Grandma was sworn in as a citizen.
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