"My America, I hardly know you anymore"

[babylonsister]

https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-opinion-america-guns-patriotism-20190816-gnht5zypy5aghhx2w6mrvatwiy-story.html?fbclid=IwAR2rH6LUmE_4coGlSerY8Z9JVF-fi2Qtjwb3NWGUbdCU4xiHdjMgBFnUphk

Commentary: My America, I hardly know you anymore
By Stephen J. Lyons
Chicago Tribune |
Aug 16, 2019 | 12:45 PM

snip//

Oh, my America, no more yellow ribbons for me. No more moments of silence. No more hand over heart as the fighter jets roar above an oversize flag in some tricked-out stadium bursting with inebriated fans drunk from the strange brew of sports and war. Instead, I will take a knee.

Oh, my America, you have traded my goodwill for your bad deeds. Pawned my obedient childhood pledges of allegiance for extended ammo clips, open carry and body armor. You sold me a hologram of life, liberty and the pursuit of freedom. But when I needed protection you handed me a shiny Glock and said, “Here’s your protection, pal. Aim for the heart. Trust me, you will get the hang of it.”

Oh, my America, my eyes are filled with the endless tears of the traumatized. When I look at you today I see the coffins and the mounds of teddy bears stacked up at curbside vigils. I also see the dead-end faces of the 20-year-old white shooters who are high on hate and racism. I see the cynical profiteering pimps of the gun industry, cashing in on the latest mass shooting. “See?” they lecture us. “We told you only a gun can protect you from each other.” #gunssavelifes, they bellow. Tell it to the grieving families, I say. Look into their grieving eyes and tell them.

Oh, my America, you have told me over and over again that I am nobody to you. I am not a lobbyist, a senator, nor billionaire. I am not a brand name or media megaphone. I am invisible to you, the next statistic in your casualty count. But I am your American boy, the one from the mythical Heartland that you ally yourself with when you need to serve your political agenda. What will you do with me now that your fair-haired native son no longer believes in you?

Oh, my America, you will dismiss me as ungrateful. As simply noise that can be silenced with another slick public relations campaign. It’s all about the right messaging, you whisper. You will slur me as a radical leftist. Yet, I am more patriotic than you. I believe in what was once special about this beleaguered nation. I believe in that shining city on the hill. I believe in Lady Liberty’s torch and the immigrant’s dream. I believe in welcoming the stranger to my door. I believe I should have the right to buy groceries without the fear of ending up as another chalk outline in some crime scene. I believe my grandchildren should not have to wear bulletproof backpacks to class and be forced to participate in live shooter drills. And, yes, I believe no one has the right to own an assault rifle.

Oh, my America, I ask, what is it you still believe in?

[mcar]

1. Amen

[bronxiteforever]

2. Kick and recommend. Outstanding.

[Demovictory9]

3. Powerful

[lunasun]

4. Kick thanks for posting. He names it

“Oh, my America, you have always been violent. Wounded Knee. Hiroshima. My Lai. Selma. And now Columbine, Sandy Hook, Las Vegas, Orlando, Parkland, El Paso, Dayton. What to call this? Here, I will name it for you. I will say the word out loud so there is no longer any doubt.
This is madness. Are you even listening?”

[Hermit-The-Prog]

10. those are now names of pain

[hibbing]

5. Thanks for posting this n/t

[ffr]

6. K&R

I remember growing up in an America where people didn't own and couldn't own assault rifles.

Oh, my America, you've lost your way.

[AwakeAtLast]

7. A new Classic

So spot on, so well done!

[Aussie105]

8. Many people leave their country of birth and look for a better life elsewhere

due to the daily violence, poverty, political instability.

New Zealand is nice this time of the year. Actually, quite a few countries are nicer. Denmark, Greenland, you name it really.

[crazytown]

9. 1619: America's original sin

The first 20 African slaves arrived by boat - and with it 'the right' to rape, maim, and murder human beings.

The 1619 Project (outside pay wall)
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html

[NCLefty]

11. That's so sad.

And so true. :/

[PandoraAwakened]

12. K&R. Thanks for posting.

[raccoon]

13. K&R. Nt

[Scarsdale]

14. It only took a little more than 2 years

for a raving lunatic and the republican party to destroy everything good about the country. They are traitors. I just read that Paul Ryan (aka Eddie Munster) is moving back to DC. Must not have been able to find a job as easy and lucrative as being in politics. These bastards NEVER go back to regular jobs, or even are able to support themselves without government grifting. Now they do not care who knows it.

[last chance]

15. People and deer.

Where I live fire arms used for hunting have limits on magazine capacity. A semiautomatic has a four shot limit to bad our law makers wont give people the same consideration as deer.

[AllaN01Bear]

16. i lost sight of it before 2000

[spanone]

17. K&R...

[Nitram]

18. Sorry, I haven't given up on America yet. Lots of loyal and patriotic Americans are

holding the line again Trump's attempts to reduce us to a dictator-led banana republic. We will use the constitution and due process to restore everything Trump has tried to destroy.