Spying

I see you…

 

 

One Nation...

I suspect my brother will soon be sending me an angry e-mail, or at least an annoyed one. See, my brother is an E-mail Forwarder. You know what I mean. He’s one of those individuals who forward the messages that say “if you believe in this, keep the message going, if not….” Fill in the blank with what you are if you fail to forward the e-mail message to a set number of individuals.

Now, typically, I don’t mind my brother’s forwards. If nothing else, it lets me know he’s alive and still exists. Beyond that, they are what they are. Today, however, he sent me a message with the subject line “NOW THIS IS CUSTOMER SERVICE” and the body of the message followed:

How ALL phones should be answered:

Good Morning, welcome to the United States of America: a Christian nation of the free and the home of the brave. How may I help you?

Press ‘1’ for English.

Press ‘2’  to disconnect until you learn to speak English.

And remember only two defining forces have ever Offered [sic] to die for you, Jesus Christ and the American soldier. One died for your soul. The other for your freedom.

If you agree… Keep it going.

Enjoy life now – it has an expiration date.

The above message was intermixed with pictures of a pretty white blonde woman wearing a headset, an American flag, a picture of Jesus holding the lamb, American soldiers walking through a desert scene, Jesus on the cross, and flag-draped caskets on a plane overseen by a man in uniform.

Understand, like my brother, I support our military. I fully believe that without the men and women willing to surrender their lives for our nation, I would not be permitted to write this message to you. That without those willing to serve in our armed forces, my words, my thoughts, and the ideas I could safely express would be censored. I know there threats to the safety of our nation and its citizenry that are thwarted by individuals working beyond the front lines. The servicemen and women of the US military have my respect and admiration. 

What I objected to in the message he forwarded to me was the underlying implication that if you were not Christian, if you were not white, and if you did not speak English, you were not American. As I told my brother, part of being the Land of the Free is the freedom to worship how, when, who, and what we choose, or to not worship at all. Nor is it one race or ethnicity. Being American is not any one thing or any one way of being. It is an amalgamation of many things, of all the peoples who have come together to create our culture and build our country throughout history. In truth, the only underlying belief we all need to share to be American is a belief in freedom and an acceptance that those who are different than us have as much right to exist and be as we do. Now, true, that’s not always easy. We sometimes have to fight against our human nature in order to make such things work. But the belief must exist, even as we struggle to make it work in actuality. That is what being American is all about.

It does not matter if one’s family first migrated here from Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America, or across the Bering Strait’s land bridge, you can still be American. It does not matter if your belief structure is Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or if you’re a Druid seeking a sacred grove, the American soldier still put his or her life on the line so that you could live free. Regardless of whether you are homosexual, heterosexual, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, or go orgasmic at the site of a cucumber, the rights of the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave should still encompass you. 

There is no one way to be when you’re American. We are truly a patchwork quilt, or if you prefer the old analogy, we are a melting pot with a blending of flavors, and we all enjoy the protection our military has to offer us. 

I for one will continue to fight to support a country where we can all live in harmony, where my rights are equal to yours, regardless of who I am or who you are. I will continue to fight and support the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, because I believe in diversity and have faith that we can all live together in peace, despite our differences.

The one real irony to the message my brother forwarded me? He's Jewish.