Turned on the news today to see that the man who caused so much hatred and death ten years ago was finally caught. Many emotions ran through me. Relief. Gratitude. And then even more emotions....a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. We, as Americans, too often think that we are God's gift to our planet. Most people in this country feel that they are entitled to just about anything and everything. For most of my life, I too was proud to be from the US. Now, looking at the news and the true glee illustrated in Washington DC after bin Laden's death, my British professor's words come back to me in full force: "American is a very young country. In fact, you are all babies compared to what England has gone through. When you live through a potato famine and countless wars that last more than only your typical ten years, then I'll cry you a river. You haven't seen anything yet. It won't be too long until the US is not number one anymore. Just you wait."
His words rang true for me today. Honestly, most of the time I am ashamed to be called an American. While I am very thankful for the middle class life that I lead, I cannot stand the way that people in the US view themselves. We take so much forgranted: the fact that we have running water, access to food pretty much whenever we want and a roof over our heads. When I was abroad, I shuddered when people would say that I was American, not only by my accent but by the way I viewed the world. It is so diluted!
I think that's a lot of the reason why I'm going to work on an Indian Reservation. America has taken everything that once belonged to the Native Americans. They where here first and this is how the government repays them? By putting them in a very ugly cycle with no clear way to get out? Anyways, before celebrating the death of the man that killed so many, think about the stereotypes that you are fulfilling.
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