Happy Birthday America!

Well, it's America's Birthday, and the field-negro would like to say a few words in honor of the Birthday girl.

Happy Birthday America. How old are you now? Is it two hundred and thirty one already? Wow, it's been that long. It seems like only yesterday some of your great thinkers were preparing the Declaration of Independence, to free you from the tyranny of that King in England. You know the one, no not the King, the declaration; "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal.." Yeah that one. We know it wasn't meant for every body, but it turned out to be a beautiful document after all. It is still so relevant today, and that's where its beauty lies, it has stood the test of time, just like you.

Hey, I know the first few years were rough on you, and I know what you did to the Indians just to get to this point. The massacre of women and children at Wounded Knee and the "Indian Removal Act" sanctioned by President Andrew Jackson, which basically insured the removal of them from your shores. Hey, at least you gave them casinos. The irony is, that everyone wants to claim that they are Indian now, because they can become wealthy just by proving that they have a drop of Indian blood. My people, on the other hand, weren't so lucky, no casinos for us. But on the other hand, maybe we were lucky, because we didn't get all the European deceases that were brought to your shores that wiped out so many of the Indians before a single shot was fired.

But we did do a lot of hard work, and we were brought to your shores against our will. Because of the hard work we did, I think we contributed so much to making this the greatest economy on earth. Of course I know we won't get credit for it, because you think we want some form of pay back or something. But we don't, we just want to be treated equally, and given the same opportunities that our fellow citizens who don't happen to look like us have. Hey, I think we have been really good considering how this issue of race could have turned out. Of course, the irony is, that the one man who advocated peace and doing things peacefully was killed by one of your own. We kept our calm after that too. But this is about you today, I wont go into one of these field-negro rants. Besides, you did eventually give us our freedom and even fought a war among yourselves to insure it. So for that, we are forever grateful.

Speaking of wars, there has been twelve of them fought under "old glory"-wow, you must be tired-some were noble and necessary-like when you stopped that evil man in Germany-and some were not so noble-like the one we are bogged down with now. But you fought them nevertheless, so I guess they don't call this the land of the brave for nothing. You fought for your principals and ideals, and you fought for your interest, and your freedom. And for that, I can't blame you for going to war when you did . But your people are split on what we are fighting for now, and it's tearing you apart. We are no more united as Americans, who happen to support different political ideas and beliefs. We are now red staters and blue staters who despise each other, and who scream at each other all day, on television, on the Internet, and in print. I know, because I am guilty of it myself.

You have had forty three men leading you as Presidents, from George Washington to George Bush; some of them left too soon, some of them can't leave soon enough. You have assassinated a couple of really good ones, which makes me wonder about you sometimes, and you kicked one out for lying to you and doing nefarious things while you entrusted him to lead you.
That was good. But then you tried to kick one out for having sex and lying about it. That was bad. All the people that have led you have been white and have been men. I guess that's not really your fault, I mean it takes so much to get elected to lead you. Although I can't help but think, that no matter how qualified or how much money a woman or a person of color had they could not get elected. Maybe I am wrong, but I think you have quite a few more years to go before we can get to that point. That hurts you, because you like to think of yourself as way past that stage, but believe me, you are not. Now I know it's your birthday, and I should only be telling you the good stuff, but hey, what are friends for, I care so I am being honest with you.

So let me give you some good stuff, because it isn't all bad with you. This is the greatest democracy on earth, and your system of laws has been unmatched throughout human history. The constitution is a brilliant document, and the amendments pertaining to the bill of rights are great equalizers in a society that could have had so much more inequities. Of course, while the laws are almost perfect, throughout your history, many of the men charged to interpret and uphold them have been flawed. If they were not, we would not have gotten "JimCrow", Plessy v. Ferguson, or Oliver Brown et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka et al. would not have been necessary. We would not have gotten the many white men who walked free after lynching people of color, and burning their land and raping their wives and daughters. Still, I can't blame you for all of that. You cannot control what is in the heart of your citizens. All you can do is create the frame work and put the things in place for men to live just and virtuous lives.

But you are a contradiction. You are the most violent industrial nation on earth, yet many yearn to come to your shores. You still discriminate against many of your own citizens,yet other countries seek you out to show them the way when it comes to morality and fair and proper treatment of their own. You are a country of immigrants, and welcome your immigrants with these comforting words: "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free..." But lately, we have learned that not all the huddled masses are welcome. Not if they happen to come from a certain country south of you. A country, by the way, who you happened to take some territory from when you were a lot younger.

So Happy Birthday America, you are one heck of a gal, and in spite of some not too flattering things I might have said about you; I wouldn't trade you for anyone else in the world.