Am I American???

I have found that a fundamental question keeps popping up this election season. Who is the REAL American? It's no secret that our presidential elections seem to be getting more bitter as the years go by and it seems that an inner struggle is the culprit. That struggle is between the 'right' and 'left' of course, but lately the 'right' (and believe me, I use that term loosely), has been labeling U.S. citizens as American or Un-American.


And I'm really a little tired of it.


Members of the Republican Party have embarked on a domestic smear campaign that tries to paint ANYONE who doesn't have their own interests at heart, as Un-American.


Some of those interests include: Undeniable belief in God - Christian God actually; homosexuals are societal deviants that are just confused about their own sexuality and indulge in their confusion rather than making attempts to correct their behavior to suit Biblical roles (aka - an abomination!); not believing in birth control protection for young adults - in favor of abstinence (yeah, which as we all know works sooooo well, right?); abhorring stem cell research to the detriment of mankind; abolishing a woman's right to choose - insisting that a "soul" resides in a two-celled organism (without ANY evidence of course that a soul actually exists); affordable health care for citizens is unacceptable; following leaders BLINDLY - no matter how stupid they may actually be; (and one of my personal favorites) America is a "Christian" nation - if you don't like it - leave.

All of these point are ridiculous. But a note on the last one - the founding fathers were Christian by Baptism and to some extent - practice, however they had aggressive views on the role of the Church in civil government. They were vehemently opposed to it. Which is why there is no consideration within the Constitution that defines the U.S. as anything other than a free and democratic country. In fact, the fabric of the Constitution prohibits the integration of religion and civil affairs. But it does prohibit the suppression of belief outside the fabric of government. So it gives people the right to believe whatever fantastical machinations they wish, but those beliefs cannot be present in affairs of the state. They were very clear on this matter.

At any rate, I am sick and tired of this move to define people with liberal viewpoints as Un-American. Liberal viewpoints have helped to make this country progressive and prosperous. Left to conservative thought, some of our greatest accomplishments may have never occurred. True innovation can only be achieved by people with open minds. Minds closed to technological advances such as stem cell research for example, retard our ability to progress as a species.
Liberal thought is more conducive to the "live and let live" mentality that should be emphasized in a free society. Conservative thought seeks to control people's actions often based on ancient dogma and/or greed. In addition, it tends to slow down forward progress - progress than can eradicate disease; quell hatred, violence, and war; slow world hunger; repair the environment; further our knowledge of the universe; or simply better our collective living conditions.
Above all, it's highly insulting to me that I be considered less American for my liberal thought than these purveyors of fear. Conservative thought revolves around fear. Fear of God, fear of terrorists, fear of homosexuals, fear of the diminished 'sanctity' of marriage, fear of big government, fear of taxes, fear of reasonable health care, fear of FRENCH FRIES and most of all - fear of those who don't do everything they say. Yet they scoff at the things we should be fearful of - global warming, disease, hunger, war, hatred, unchecked capitalism, corporate greed, spending deficits in the trillions, owing money to other countries, softening relationships with our allies.
In my humble opinion, it is far more un-American to label those with liberal thought or simply those that might question their conservative motives, as un-American.
Our founding fathers deliberately set up our system of government to insure that we are able to question our leaders. Our leaders are representatives of US - not the other way around. They must be able to provide us with answers when we question their motivation. The last 8 years has stripped that fundamental right away. And it must stop NOW - before it gets worse - and we're living an Orwellian existence.
Cheers.