Well, my husband posted a long and well-written editorial on Independence Day from a foreigner's perspective, and he encapsulated a few things that I would have said. Still, my point of view comes from a somewhat "lost" American.
This will be my 3rd 4th of July away from America, and of all the holidays, it is probably the hardest being away from home. Sure, they don't have Thanksgiving here, but it is pretty easy to stuff a turkey, make pumpkin pie, and invite all the Greek family over for a down home Thanksgiving dinner (ok, so it isn't like having my mom doing the cooking, but still). Christmas here is as lavish as in the States, and Easter is a week-long extravaganza of reflection and prayer on Christos Aneste. But the 4th of July, well, it is just like any other day here in Greece. Not that Greeks are completely ignorant of the fact that this is the day that America celebrates its independence, but Greeks have been fighting for their own independence for so often over the past 2,000 years I guess it doesn't mean a whole lot to them.
Still, its not like I was prone to 4th of July celebrations over the last few years in Nashville. I had long gotten over fighting my way to Riverfront Park with no place to park in 90+ degree temperatures, with swarms of sweaty people and overpriced food and drink. It used to be worth it for the fireworks, but then after 30 some years of watching spectacular fireworks displays amongst heat and mosquitoes and crowds, you learn the values of comfort and sanity. Plus there were various decent locations throughout Nashville to view the fireworks without the hassle. Despite all that, there was always something to Independence Day that was magical - all the flags, all the patriotism, the red, white and blue explosions - it was a day when, for the most part, we could forget that we were liberals or conservatives, forget the things we disagree on, and reflect upon what it took to make America free. It was the one day a year that no matter what, we could be proud to be American. And it is very easy to be proud to be American amongst a swarm of other Americans celebrating a special day. Here, it isn't so easy.
It has been hard being an American living overseas. You don't get media doused with rose-colored glasses. You don't get real bias in news about America. You get the facts, laid out bare in all their terrible colors. You get the opinionated Europeans who don't understand how Americans let things get the way they have, who can't even imagine how Bush got re-elected. You are able to more clearly see how America today is not at all like the America the founding fathers had envisioned. You see America as the country where private property can now be siezed for public use, where politicians aren't willing to let the Patriot Act go, where people are afraid when a decent Supreme Court Justice resigns.
Who knows, maybe America has gotten too big to be the same America the founding fathers wanted it to be. Maybe we don't want to fight because we want to protect ourselves and our loved ones from harm. Maybe we don't know how to make it better. Maybe we realize it would be the moral thing to incite change, but not the right thing. Who knows.
All I know is for just one day, I'd like to be proud to be an American again. Just one day.
2 comments:
The sad thing is that you aren't getting the facts laid bare there either. You are getting the facts as presented by overseas media who have their own agendas. (Passing the EU Constititution, debt renegotiation, base relocation, etc.)
I lived overseas for awhile, and I empathise. Chin up. There's a lot of bathwater, but we still have a pretty good baby.
Yea, I'm always optimistic. I want America to stay strong and proud.
One of the local Greek stations used to run CBS nightly news at like 6am, I guess their license ran out. I miss watching U.S. news and debate.
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