We’re traveling the world and consistently one of the immediate things that happens when we meet someone is that they assess what country you’re from.  Sometimes they guess from your dress or accent and other times they just come right out and ask… but it’s always one of the first things that comes up.  When people find out that we’re American their next line of questioning is to find out what kind of American and this always comes down to one thing… Trump.  An audible sigh of relief comes when they find out that we are the kind of Americans who think Trump and his continued supporters are nuts.  At this point can we move forward and start to become friends.

In conservative America there resides the perpetual fear that we will be “one world order” and they will lose their “freedom” and “culture.”  We’re used to hearing this in America and we’ve in some ways become desensitized by it.  We’re also used to mass shootings and particularly school shootings.  We’re used to these same conservatives fear mongering about people coming for their guns and because of this they fight against any common sense legislation to make sure no more children are shot and killed in school.

When you travel you leave your small pond and you start to see the world is a bigger place, a beautiful place, a place of learning and growth but the one thing you realize the most is that we are all one.  Color, Race, Sexuality, Cultures, Languages….  these all cease to matter and you sit there and struggle to communicate with remedial language and lots of hand gestures.  You realize at this moment that there already is “One World Order.”  The internet and technology has already united the whole world.   We are one.  Countries communicate and work together in previously unheard of ways.  In fact, there is no better evidence of this than the worlds response to the Corona Virus.  Scientists, Governments, Doctors, Researchers all working tirelessly…together… around the globe to fight a Worldwide Pandemic.

Those of us with a world view see everyone as valuable.  The people I meet in Portugal are just as valuable to me as the Americans I know.  They are not “less” important because they are not from my country.  The idea of “America First” and “American Pride” is not American in the least.  America, since it’s inception, has always been a part of “the world,” and in fact would never have won it’s independence in the first place without massive sacrifice and aid from the rest of the world.  Yet, it is commonplace to see displays of “American pride” in the form of flags, stickers and social media posts and this most often goes hand in hand with a massive ignorance of anything outside of Americas borders.

As we travel from country to country we meet foreigners who literally know more about our country and our history than the majority of Americans.  Other countries actual study and learn about the whole world, not just their own country.  Almost everyone we have met speaks 2-3 languages fluently and can get by in a couple more.  Meanwhile, many Americans can barely speak and write their own language.  Worldwide, about 80 percent of people on the planet speak 1.69 languages, Americans speak 0.5 fluently, with a vocabulary of about 10,000 of the 750,000 English words.

These things are embarrassing as an American.  When we pull our passports out or say we are Americans we have to make defenses or admit how screwed up our country is.   This does not make us proud.  Now, does that mean we don’t love our country?  Of course not!  Does it mean we are not grateful for the blessings we recieved as Americans?  Ridiculous!  Listen, Patriotism is not about blindly carrying your countrys flag around and chanting silly slogans.  Patriotism is about loving your country enough that you are willing to accurately assess your failings and fix them.  Loving your country is about growing and getting better, not stagnating and sinking to the bottom of the pile.

I love guns.  I lived in Texas for 25 years.  I was a firearms instructor specializing in tactical pistol and I raised all my kids shooting.   But I am appalled that 11 more children were shot the other day as they went to school.  Is my freedom to have guns more important than their freedom to not be shot and killed?  Why is this even a political discussion?  If I could give some of my gun rights and save 1 child’s life would I not obviously do so?   Why are we not working together to make sure this never ever happpens again for any reason?  This is what other countries have done…. successfully.

Americans are debating and even creating a hero out of Kyle Rittenhouse.  Listen, I don’t give a crap about whether he is guilty or innocent in a court of law.  This is a ridiculously stupid argument.  If it is legal for mothers to drive their 17 year old sons armed with AR15s to an incendiary protest then guess what?  It’s time to change the damn law.  How hard is this to understand?  We are failing when people shoot each other in our streets.   No matter which side of the political aisle we are on, all reasonable people should be able to agree on this.

Thankfully the killers of Ahmaud Arbery were found guilty.  But guess what?  He’s still freaking dead.  Putting people in jail doesn’t fix that.  What fixes it is making sure they can’t shoot someone in the first place.  Again, lose the politics and this is crystal clear.

America has a surplus of vaccines because 40% of Republicans won’t take it but instead perpetuate misinformation and conspiracy theories.  This is oppossed to 10% of Democrats.  A new stat out today shows that if you live in a “Red state” which voted for Trump then you are 52% more likely to get Covid and die.  We have anti-vaxx people screaming on airplanes and in stores,  inundating people like Dr. Fauci with death threats and regularly screaming at Virologists to “do their research.”  It is insane and I haven’t even gotten started on the “Q”uacks hanging out in Dallas waiting for JFK Jr to rise from the dead.  The world is looking at us like we have a mental disorder.

It is time for us as Americans to say, “enough is enough.”  It is time for us to change because WHAT WE ARE DOING IS NOT FUCKING WORKING.   Continuing to defend this is absolute insanity.  Literally.

Let’s look at some facts:

  • The murder rate per 100,000 people puts America at 89th out of 230 countries.
  • America is the second worst of 20 countries when it comes to share of CO2 emissions.
  • America’s health care costs are the highest out of 48 countries.
  • Life expectancy in the United States ranks 46th out of 193.
  • In student math performance, America comes in at number 39 out of 71 countries.
  • Ninth of 26 countries is the rank in suicide rates per 100,000.
  • The percentage of people living in poverty puts America at number 127 out of 172.
  • America’s crime rate is 56th out of 137 countries.
  • In reading, the United States ranks 24th out of 71 countries.
  • In terms of happiness, America’s rank is 24th out of 95.
  • In obesity, the U.S. rank is 35th out of 44 countries.
  • The U.S. ranks 71st out of 134 in terms of the safest countries.

You know what the U.S. ranks first at?  Infant Mortality rates, Defense spending and SCHOOL FUCKING SHOOTINGS.   That’s right… The US has had 57 times as many school shootings as the other major industrialized nations combined.  57 fucking times.  Awesome…  we’re by far the best at murdering our children in their schools in the name of freedom.

I love my country but I am not proud of it right now.  I am ashamed and it’s time to seriously assess ourselves and become “great” again.  That’s not going to happen by wearing red hats and screaming about freedom.  It’s going to happen when REAL patriotic Amercians take an honest look, realize that we are failing and then move in a NEW direction with our solutions.