"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."
         --Mark Twain


Pretty much sums up my feelings on the matter. Needless to say, right now the government is not at the top of my list of those deserving support. But I defy anyone to say I don't love my country, or at least the idea of what my country could be if someone who actually gave a shit about right and wrong (or, at least, thought deeply about what they ACTUALLY entail) was in charge.

This country certainly has its share of checkered history, and no amount of wishful thinking can erase that. But millions upon millions of immigrants would not have risked life and limb to come here if it didn't offer something, some chance for life to be better than where they came from. Unfortunately, their dream has been eclipsed by those who think the country, and indeed the world, should be nothing more than their own personal yacht club. If Independence Day reminds us of anything, it is that speaking out in passionate dissent against injustice and tyranny is at the core of true patriotism. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, Ann Coulter--being called a traitor by you is the sweetest music to my ears.

Molly