My Politics

America can be great again.

We can wear suits on Sundays, our children can ride their bicycles around the block until the streetlights come on. We can take our hats off indoors. We can respect the members of the opposite political party, and admit that they probably love the flag and the Constitution too.

We can shop on main street, at a store owned by a man who lives in the same town as us. We can bike to work. We can buy hefty and shiny vegetables at farmers' markets. We can apprehend bank robbers and wild-eyed bombers with the strength of our middle school teachers and sidewalk hot-dog vendors.

We can all know who won the World Series last year; maybe we can even care. We can drive cars built and designed in America, with American sweat and American intellect. We can pay the men and women on the assembly line as fairly as we pay the men and women in the design labs and the board rooms. We can all stand up when a lady arrives at our table. We can take our children camping, we can help in their classrooms, attend their Little League games, and check their homework at night. We can expect excellence from them, and we can teach them to learn from their failures. We can learn from our failures.

We can be proud of what we put our name on, nationally and individually, from "USA" on a rocket to Mars all the way down to "John Q. Public" on a citizen's initiative petition. Because in this great country we are permitted to privately and anonymously detest anyone we choose; but if we strive to bring that emotion to the public square, if we endeavour to steer the ship of state against our neighbors, then we must stand up and name ourselves, to declare, "I, Insert Name Here, wish to use my small but mighty piece of this democratic franchise for this end."

Our name should mean something, and we should not use it lightly. Our participation in our democracy can be something we pride ourselves on, not something to be ashamed of. We can stop apologizing for hiding behind our opinions, and we can start defending them. We can remember that the last part of the Pledge commits us to "Liberty and Justice for all." We can understand that my "Liberty" and your "Justice" are often in conflict, and respect those people and institutions who strive for balance.

We can participate in our society as well as our politics. We can watch out for each other's kids; and yes, we can even correct them when they're going astray. We can stand up against injustice anywhere, and remember that it threatens justice everywhere.

We can refuse to be a nation of bystanders.

Forgive me, but yes we can.