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Not just today, but any day:
Exercise your rights. Vote. Express yourself. These are hard-won rights that you should never take for granted. Consider the repercussions of going without them.
Know your history. It tends to help you not repeat it. Most lessons have already been learned, if you look far back enough to see it.
Tolerate the diversity of your nation's people and culture. It's one thing to be Proud to be an American and have some white-bread image of a 1950s family hanging a flag on their white picket fence, but do you tolerate a PETA-supporting Calfornia vegan, a black Baptist reverend, an East Coast Ivy League professor, a gang member raised in a city ghetto, a Jehovah's witness, a Midwest soccer mom, an uneducated Appalachian, and the child of illegal Mexican immigrants all the same? America has a vast array of cultures, and it's pretty tall to suggest that one of these is the *official* one. We're a nation founded on diversity of people and backgrounds. You don't have to agree with or even respect everybody's principles, but accept that they exist and give them room to breathe.
Respect the laws of the land. By this I mean obey the laws that you agree with, and work to change the laws you don't. If you disagree with a law, petition for its removal or make an explicit act of civil disobedience in which you gracefully accept punishment in order to illustrate injustice. Don't just sneak around hoping not to get caught. Laws are meant to serve society; it is imperative they are fair in principle and in enforcement. Work with them, not against them.
Get some perspective. The USA is not perfect. You do not have to agree with your leaders just because they are leaders or agree with a war just because it is waged by your country. On the other hand, don't be so perfectionistic in your drive for your ideals that you fail to appreciate the changes we have made. There are a lot of things to be proud of about the US: democracy, the Constitution, the impressive litany of civil rights we offer our citizens without strings attached, AND YOUR RIGHT TO WORK TO CHANGE THE STATUS QUO WITHOUT BEING SILENCED, REPRESSED, IMPRISONED, AND/OR KILLED. So stop for a moment, appreciate what we've achieved and where we're at right now, take a deep breath, and continue fighting to make it even better.
Not just today, but any day:
Exercise your rights. Vote. Express yourself. These are hard-won rights that you should never take for granted. Consider the repercussions of going without them.
Know your history. It tends to help you not repeat it. Most lessons have already been learned, if you look far back enough to see it.
Tolerate the diversity of your nation's people and culture. It's one thing to be Proud to be an American and have some white-bread image of a 1950s family hanging a flag on their white picket fence, but do you tolerate a PETA-supporting Calfornia vegan, a black Baptist reverend, an East Coast Ivy League professor, a gang member raised in a city ghetto, a Jehovah's witness, a Midwest soccer mom, an uneducated Appalachian, and the child of illegal Mexican immigrants all the same? America has a vast array of cultures, and it's pretty tall to suggest that one of these is the *official* one. We're a nation founded on diversity of people and backgrounds. You don't have to agree with or even respect everybody's principles, but accept that they exist and give them room to breathe.
Respect the laws of the land. By this I mean obey the laws that you agree with, and work to change the laws you don't. If you disagree with a law, petition for its removal or make an explicit act of civil disobedience in which you gracefully accept punishment in order to illustrate injustice. Don't just sneak around hoping not to get caught. Laws are meant to serve society; it is imperative they are fair in principle and in enforcement. Work with them, not against them.
Get some perspective. The USA is not perfect. You do not have to agree with your leaders just because they are leaders or agree with a war just because it is waged by your country. On the other hand, don't be so perfectionistic in your drive for your ideals that you fail to appreciate the changes we have made. There are a lot of things to be proud of about the US: democracy, the Constitution, the impressive litany of civil rights we offer our citizens without strings attached, AND YOUR RIGHT TO WORK TO CHANGE THE STATUS QUO WITHOUT BEING SILENCED, REPRESSED, IMPRISONED, AND/OR KILLED. So stop for a moment, appreciate what we've achieved and where we're at right now, take a deep breath, and continue fighting to make it even better.
