“I am a liberal and a patriot,” Kristie began. “The two go together as far as I’m concerned. Some may think that being a liberal disqualifies me from being patriotic but I LOVE America! I love our history, our forefathers and foremothers. I love the USA!”
She can remember learning the Pledge of Allegiance when she was in kindergarten. One nation, indivisible… about half way through the year they decided to add the ‘under God’ bit. Her father was furious. “What’s God got to do with it?” He was on a rant.
‘Well, what should I do about it?” she asked him innocently, but with a little fear. She did not want to disappoint her father or get into trouble at school.
“Just don’t say it,” he said as he took a drag on his cigarette. “Stand up tall and straight and put your hand on your heart, and say, “One nation… Be silent on the Under God part.”
If anyone doubted her precociousness or her ken, they were dead wrong. She understood way more than her precious five years would allow. Even at that young age she understood the questions she had about God and religion would haunt her for a lifetime, but her patriotism never wavered.
In her high school years, many of her friends were anticipating their draft numbers with fear. The Vietnam War was raging and eating up young men at a rapid rate. They watched the whole war on the nightly news and the protest movement was bolstered. “Hell no! We won’t go!” was the cry, but even as they marched, she insisted on holding the flag high.
“Protesting is democratic,” her father said. She attended rallies and marches. Her current boyfriend gave a speech about the “military industrial complex” and burned his draft card.
She was standing towards the back of the crowd silently and slowly waving the flag while witnessing the brave young men who were putting themselves at risk by such a flagrant public display of law breaking. “Protesting is patriotic,” her father’s voice echoed.
Just then someone ripped the flag out of her hands and took it to the front of the stage where they had a fire going in a big fifty gallon metal drum. The flag was shoved into the trash can and burned to the cheers of the protesters. She didn’t like where this was going. She did not like to see the flag disrespected in this way.
“I want to leave,” she told her beau. He wanted to stay. His eyes fairly glowed with the passion of the scene. She retreated into the cool dark theater she was familiar with. She sat in one of the empty seats and thought.
You learn a lot of things in college. Sometimes you learn what not to do. She did not want to go to anymore demonstrations where a lot of people went nuts burning the flag. “One nation under God… ” Which god? Your god, my god, whose god? It didn’t matter, she decided. Any god would do.
She put a twist on her father’s instructions, “Calling all gods and goddesses… Gah Bless America!” She put her hand on her heart in all ernestness. She decided “Gah” would encompass all the gods in all their incarnations: Ameratsu, Buddha, Diana, Eternal Spirit, Flying Spaghetti Monster, Good Shepherd, Holy Ghost, Jah, Lord Krishna, Mother Goddess, Osiris, Pele, Quetzalcoatl, Rainbow Serpent, Son of Righteousness, True Light, Yahweh… Any god will do.
(First published 7/11/3)
