Potential

Trey Smith

As an unabashed critic of this nation's government (as well as its chosen economic system), I frequently have to deal with the accusation that I am un-American. If I loved my country, the thinking goes, I would embrace her policies, not denigrate them. If I find her policies to be so abhorrent, then I should leave and find somewhere else to call home.

I'm not going anyplace [of my own volition]. I was born in this land and it is my intent to die here as well. To my critics I say, like it or not, I AM an American and my ancestors have been Americans since around the start of the 19th Century (having immigrated from Ireland and Scotland).

My main beef with my own country is bound up in its squandered potential. As the wealthiest nation on the face of the earth, we have the potential to be the champion of goodwill, but, far too often, we instead are the purveyors of evil. In our rhetoric, we hold out the olive branch of peace, when, in reality, we attack with the sword of war.

We are famous for expecting other nations to meet their moral obligations to their own people and the world, yet we rarely acknowledge our own moral obligations, let alone live up to them. We talk incessantly about the ideals of freedom, democracy and self-determination, put our leaders consistently deny these ideals in real terms to people in far off lands and even within our own borders. And while we talk about opposing authoritarian regimes, we cozy up to them whenever it suits the purposes of our elites.

America has the capacity to be the leader in green technologies, environmental stewardship, the reverence of basic human rights, education, health care, justice and peace, but our leadership has steadfastly refused to take upon themselves ANY of these mantles. No, this nation serves only one god and that god's name is power. We crave power for nothing more than power's sake and we utilize this power to enrich the few, while starving the many.

I am an American and my problem with my country is potential...a potential that is slipping away.