I Am a Bleeding Heart Liberal, and I Love My Country

Posted on July 4, 2018 by Shanna S Mathews-Mendez

I was once again recently asked why I don’t live in Venezuela or some other socialist country. This question was posed by someone who admires me, who likes me, who enjoys my company. But yes, he laughingly said he was surprised I don’t live in a country that is more overtly liberal. He is surprised I’m still in the US. And the truth is, that while I will be the last person to say it is perfect, I love my country, and I am here to stay. I am happy here.

Bush, Trump, Insert Name Here

It could be anyone, any president we don’t agree with, and we say it: “If Trump wins, I’m moving to Canada.”

I had a student tell me during the last election that if Clinton won she was moving to Canada.

Um… Okay?

But the bottom line is, most of us are all talk, and when it comes right down to it, we realize that we would rather be here than anywhere else on earth. Would I love to visit other countries? Of course. Would I live a fabulous life in another country, in any other other country, if I ended up living there? Absolutely. Just as fabulous as my life here.

Because the ultimate reality is that life is what we make it. We can make it great or awful anywhere.

The Trump Administration is a blip on our radar; some people love him; some people hate him.

But he is a blip. Like every other president we have ever had. Presidents come and go.

I don’t have the energy or the emotional space to hate anyone. It’s too much of a burden.

And honestly, as a light worker, someone who aims to grow love and light across the world, I am better poised to do that now than ever. Why would I leave?

Further, I do not live a conditional life. I do not need to go where happiness is. I bring happiness wherever I go.

I am here.

The Greatest Country in the World

So the United States has prided itself on this title for a long time. We were the very first country in the entirety of human history that was founded on democratic principles.

We have misplaced (but not lost) a lot of what we built in this country, and other countries around the world have picked those inventions up and built on them.

We built labor unions and universal education. We legislated women’s rights and civil rights. We conserved millions of acres of natural land space and protected still more millions of acres of aquatic space. We produced great writers and directors, painters and dancers, engineers and mathematicians, historians and scientists.

We have held on to many of our marvels as well.

We are home to female CEOs and stay at home moms, proud gay activists and straight stay at home dads. We believe that women can be soldiers and men can be nurses. We have it written into our founding document that all people are created equal, and the vast majority of US citizens do actually believe that sentiment.

This is why I love my country.

We Are Young

The brilliant thinker and writer from Colombia, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, was asked once about why Latin America is still so “behind the times.”

He responded, thoughtfully and accurately, that the rest of the world, the parts of the world that are “ahead of the times,” were so very much older than Latin American countries. Latin America is like a toddler; it is falling down and getting up, falling down and getting up, learning along the way, progressing along the way, as is the nature of all growing things.

The United States is no exception to that rule. We are just as young, younger in some cases, than Latin America. We are still babies.

Europe, the so much more liberal and progressive Europe, is hundreds and hundreds years older than we are.

Yes, we have seemed highly advanced at times, likely because of our competitive nature with our European big brothers and sisters, but we are still babies.

I love my country, even in its toddlerhood.

I can recognize when it falls down, and I can see that it will get back up.

Because “we” are “it.” We make this country great.

All of the people violently angry in this country right now are angry because they don’t recognize their country.

And that is a good thing in many ways. The people who want improvement will watch it come to fruition. And everyone that is angry is angry because they want improvement, change for the better.

We may want different types of changes, but that has always been the case, and it will always be the case in any country with a gigantic diverse population.

We will work it out. In fact, we are working it out as we speak. The uglier things get, the more we come together, and that is glorious.

We Are Glorious

We are brave. We are strong. We are resilient. We are forward thinking. We are beautiful. We are kind. We are loving.

And right now, we are afraid.

We feel broken. We feel overwhelmed. We feel uninformed and useless.

So we are afraid, and so we act from a place of fear.

But let this holiday, Independence Day, remind us of who we are.

No, we haven’t always gotten it right. Who does?

But we learn, and we learn well, from our mistakes.

We are absolutely not repeating history. We have never lived a time like this before.

And the darker it gets today, the brighter the days tomorrow.

Because of us.

Because we will reject fear and embrace love.

We will remember who we are.

This is why I love my country.

Time and again it is true.

Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, wrote about how the very men who legislated the Fugitive Slave Act harbored runaway slaves who arrived broken and afraid on their doorsteps.

Donald Trump who derided his wives and lovers has also advocated for women’s rights because of his daughter.

Diane Ravitch, once a staunch advocate of standardized testing now fights to bring an end to it because she has seen the deplorable effects on children and teachers alike.

Staunchly conservative Dick Cheney is pro gay marriage because of his love for his gay daughter.

We think we know, we dig in on our position, and then something (looks a lot like love) makes us change our minds.

And we change our nation.

We lead with love and light

It is always when we turn to acting from a place of love.

And we always do.

We always do.

We have always done the loving, compassionate, open hearted thing in the end.

Because it is who we are.

Because of us.

And that is why I love my country.

Remember Who You Are

So I implore you, anyone reading this, on Independence Day, to remember that we are a nation of love. That we love each other. That we are brothers and sisters. That brothers and sisters are awful and brutal to each other sometimes. But that we always come together in the end.

Family. What are you gonna do?

And it is only when we forget that we are family that we lose our way. That we lose sight of our love for each other.

Remember that it is our differences that make us great.

Remember that our diversity is our beauty.

Remember that Republicans and Democrats, Green Party and Independents, Atheists and Christians, Muslims and Buddhists, all have far more in common here in the United States of America than we do that separates us.

We all want the same things.

And we all fight or love for one core idea: freedom.

We love this country most for its freedom.

And we are, in the end, still the most free country in the whole wide world.

And every single time we fall, we get up.

We get up because we love ourselves too much not to.

And every single time we get up, we become even more free.

And the more free we get, the more we learn to love each other in new ways.

This is why I am here. This is why I want to be here.

This is the love revolution I am working for, all day, every day.

And I will meet you on the front lines.

Happy 4th of July.