Monday, June 05, 2006

America in the spotlight.

America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You've got to want it bad, because it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil who is standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the 'land of the free'? Then the symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then you can stand up and sing about the 'land of the free.'"- Aaron Sorkin (The American President).

2 comments:

Mark J said...

Maybe I seem a bit hard on the US, but I believe now, more than ever, it's important to take stock of where we are, and look at what's happening in the world. And unfortunately, for me, the US, with so much potential for good seems to be letting everyone down. And when you see anyone doing something wrong - it should be ok to say something about it. Right?

Anonymous said...

I agree ... I would hate to be an American at the moment, I know they're not like their president and yet so much harm is being done in their name ... terrifying.

I've never felt so much like a victim before but why the US hasn't thrown Bush and his cronies out of office is beyond me. It hasn't been 'land of the free' for a while now ... it's sad.