Bloggerific Resume

Conservative radio talk show hosts have been blasting Michelle Obama for not being “proud enough” of her country, but I’d like to propose that she’s probably more proud than most of us who are carrying her husband to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The generation that embodies the current movement in this country to elect an African American inspirationalist to the White House has mediocre patriotism for a reason. We never had to put our families into boats to cross the Atlantic for religious freedom. We never shot at Red Coats, or fought with Natives. We never had to blaze trails across a vast and unknown land or fight in a civil war. We never suffered from a the starvation of the Dust Bowl, or from the Great Depression. We weren’t saddled with the responsibility of freeing thousands from the repression of Adolph Hitler. We didn’t experience John F. Kennedy, the Cuban Missile Crisis or race the Russians to the Moon. We’ve never greived the loss of a sitting president.

No, we were raised in a time when Americans were individuals. Pride in our country was passed on to us like an heirloom that we cherished, but never really possessed as our own. Americans of our generation never had to band together to defeat anything or overcome any adversity. The generation before us told us the horrors of war, particularly the war that was lost during their early years. We never understood the need for war. Even in both Iraq wars, the country was never consumed by it. We didn’t send all of our men to fight and leave our women to build the artillery. No, even during those wars we just went on with our daily lives, worked in our offices, drank our cocktails and watched reality television.

But now, here we are, at a crossroads with real prospects, because you see, that reality television did give us something. It gave us the knowledge that we have to power to change someone’s fate. Whether it’s voting someone off of American Idol or electing the man of our choice to the White House, we now understand the power of making a choice. And for the first time in our generation, we are not just individuals who can do very little, we are a united people who can again bring out the greatness of our country. Finally, we are proud Americans.