A Letter to Patriots

  Imagine if you were able to leave this country and see it from another angle and from another place in the world. Poet and actor Saul Williams along with writer James Baldwin have done this. The effects of doing this is culture-shocking indeed. one might just come back to the U.S.A. not wanting anything to do with The Fourth of July or even apple pie. Some may come back confused because the way things were as they last knew it is usually no more.

  Being a patriot is not always about being in love or loyal to your country, but also being at a disagreement with it as well. True patriots are the ones who have no problem being honest of the good and bad of his/or her's country. On the left, right, and even non-partisan are considered patriots of the past, present, and even possible future. Our very country was built on discussions that raddled the public and scared the powers that be.

  Most of use were reared as "patriot kids" reciting the Pledge of Allegiance see our nations flag as a representation of the home of the brave and the land of the free. Patriotic- Ignorance must effect us all because people from other countries see the flag as a flimsy rag, representing destruction and imperialism. Everything we have from clothes to jewelry is manufactured on backs of the disenfranchised and unfortunate. We often turn a blind eye to this travesty, and we should be ashamed of it.

  Throughout our media China and Russia are considered violators of human rights. There must've been a reason as to why the U.S. dropout of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Inquiring minds need to know that in this sweet land of liberty there is more people incarcerated than in China and Russia combined. Don't forget to mention that the largest percentage of prisoners are of African descent and Hispanic. This issue is discussed in households all over the nation. The only thing remains is that the true patriots are making noise and the pretend one's are quiet as mice.

  If you thought politicians were stupid, try looking at them through the eye's of a foreigner. While the democrats move to the far left and the republicans not knowing any better, there's no sense of concrete leadership in the land. This might just be me but it seems as if both sides have the same pay master. A politician will always be a politician. No matter what party they claim to represent or what stance a politician takes he/or she will always stick to the "base." We the people must become the change we want the world to see.

  Whether you like me or my writings I am a true patriot, and demand you to treat as such. My disagreements with my country are many a handful. Leaving the country is not a option at the moment, situational circumstances are to blame. For reasons unexplained I often ask myself of what the late James Baldwin would think of the current state of our nations current existence. Baldwin's wisdom often talks to me from a region in my mind. The conversations we have are so profound that some may call them a letter to a patriot.