Write before the 4th

Replying to a friends email encouraging me to write after too long not doing so, I found myself writing about how it's going. So I will cheat and paste that in as a beginning: "I have been in a funk of sorts. Brain seems cloudy. I say that and some people call it chemo brain. No excuse, but it is how it feels to me. I am so tired of taking that stuff. It comes on like some drug of the past then makes me feel like crap – longer now than a month ago. Maybe a few hours instead of 1 or two. WEell, here I am writing, so maybe I will cut and paste it in to get me started, thank you."

There, a start.

The 4th of July is tomorrow. I remember accidentally finding the Liberty Bell while strolling in a park near downtown Philadelphia probably in 1978. I thought it was a replica and went closer, seeing it was the real thing. I turned 180 degrees and behold! There was Independence Hall where the Bell used to ring from its spire. Did you know PENSYLVANIA as spelled on the bell, is missing the 2nd n?

Anyway, I suddenly felt a shiver up my spine and tears in my eyes - a sensation I can only label as visceral Patriotism. A friend recently told me of her trip to Washington DC where she got the same overwhelming feeling of awe. The Capitol Mall must trigger that same visceral Patriotism. I would like to go there and walk the Mall.

That feeling of Patriotism is just that, something I feel more than just think. What have I ever done to protect that feeling which I would guess so many of us feel? I drew a very big lottery number in the draft for Viet Nam. I did not welcome the men coming back, never even occurred to me at the time. I did ask inane questions of my uncle when he returned. He has never really spoken with me since, and bridging that gap is beyond me and perhaps not even appropriate. I did call him a few years ago long distance and say, "Welcome back." But that was met with a distant reaction that I interpreted as no interest in "reupping" our relationship which once was close.

Today we all know to welcome and applaud the solders coming home. They are often older and people we know in our adult lives, not just the kids we sent to Viet Nam. They exemplify the action behind Patriotism, even when I disagree with why they are sent to wherever armpit location our leaders think best. I can welcome them when they come home and shudder when they are sent back again and again. Weekend warriors my ass!

What action can I take to back up my feeling of Patriotism? Is it the knee jerking verbal tirades and accusations of being "UNPATRIOTIC!"? I don't think so. Is it judging others' level of loyalty to our nation? Nooooo. How about speaking my mind in a strong yet cordial way when I see people in the USA treated without equality? Maybe. How about when I give to those who need something I can give, and give with out strings (maybe even anonymously)? Yes, I like that one.

Recently I encountered a person near my circle of acquaintance. He basically screamed at me about some very conservative (much further right than any of my family)beliefs at odds with my left/moderate lean to the left. He expressed hatred and ill will, even a desire for all the recent efforts to repair our nations ills to fail. Not just fail, but fail miserably, squashing even further our poor, our hungry, our sick, and our suffering, children and elderly included. I am not sure what he wanted, but I hope he is not an example of our system of bipartisan checks and balances. I hope he is not an example of what he claimed is being a Patriot. Hate and vitriol, hoping for failure. I did not see those qualities etched in the Liberty Bell alongside the misspelled Pincilvanea.

Cheers to all of us who appreciate the diversity in our country and all that diversity can continue to accomplish. I am hopeful.
Bill