Benign Butterfly #3
'pA-trE-&t : one who loves his or her country and supports its authority and interests
'Patriot' means oh-so-much more now. Americans have managed to manipulate the term so much like a little ball of clay that it's picked up flakes of dirt and glitter that are now stuck in its soft underbelly.
'Patriot' now means the seemingly fearless soldiers who travel to strange countries to defend our way of life and leave behind greiving families who just want the war to end. But it also means the crass men that brutually rape native women in the nations they symbolicly penetrate with their pointed guns. 'Patriots' are the citizens that dutifully vote in every election because they believe it's their responsibility. 'Patriots' are the objectors that refuse to participate in a system rigged so that the rich white guys hold all the dice.
'Patriots' are the politicians that staunchly defend every move their President-heir makes with a sharp accusatory tone to dissenters. They're standing in the streets, in the god-damned cold so sharp it freezes their snot solid, to protest the actions of their so-called leader. They're the rich white folks in my subdivision that purchase a hundred plastic American flags on the fourth to put in everyone's lawn (to prove, I suppose, that our neighborhood loves America). 'Patriots' are the family that wakes up, spots the plastic-patriotism-on-a-stick, and wonders, "when did I authorize that litter?"
'Patriots' are soccer moms who guzzle oil in the SUVs and buy a dozen magnetic ribbons to assure everyone in traffic that they do indeed support our troops. They're also the people to spring up on the internet selling out their car decor that reads, "I support the magnetic ribbon industry." 'Patriots' are the suburban family with a pair of beautiful twins and another on the way that spends the fourth at the local park to watch the fireworks display. They're the poor Dominican "family" made of a mother and her two sons who work triple-shifts on the holdiay to scrape up some extra pay at the higher rate.
'Patriots' are me and you. They're everyone in between who tries to define themselves as an American. The clay once milkly white is now dotted with so much debris it looks like its been rolled across the dirt.
'Patriot' means oh-so-much more now. Americans have managed to manipulate the term so much like a little ball of clay that it's picked up flakes of dirt and glitter that are now stuck in its soft underbelly.
'Patriot' now means the seemingly fearless soldiers who travel to strange countries to defend our way of life and leave behind greiving families who just want the war to end. But it also means the crass men that brutually rape native women in the nations they symbolicly penetrate with their pointed guns. 'Patriots' are the citizens that dutifully vote in every election because they believe it's their responsibility. 'Patriots' are the objectors that refuse to participate in a system rigged so that the rich white guys hold all the dice.
'Patriots' are the politicians that staunchly defend every move their President-heir makes with a sharp accusatory tone to dissenters. They're standing in the streets, in the god-damned cold so sharp it freezes their snot solid, to protest the actions of their so-called leader. They're the rich white folks in my subdivision that purchase a hundred plastic American flags on the fourth to put in everyone's lawn (to prove, I suppose, that our neighborhood loves America). 'Patriots' are the family that wakes up, spots the plastic-patriotism-on-a-stick, and wonders, "when did I authorize that litter?"
'Patriots' are soccer moms who guzzle oil in the SUVs and buy a dozen magnetic ribbons to assure everyone in traffic that they do indeed support our troops. They're also the people to spring up on the internet selling out their car decor that reads, "I support the magnetic ribbon industry." 'Patriots' are the suburban family with a pair of beautiful twins and another on the way that spends the fourth at the local park to watch the fireworks display. They're the poor Dominican "family" made of a mother and her two sons who work triple-shifts on the holdiay to scrape up some extra pay at the higher rate.
'Patriots' are me and you. They're everyone in between who tries to define themselves as an American. The clay once milkly white is now dotted with so much debris it looks like its been rolled across the dirt.
posted by Anonymous at 8:54 AM
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