You Want To Buy A Flag?

What you hear from those who know: "Confession is good for the soul." Well, I have a confession to make. I don't fly the American flag. Sure I have one. I bought it right after Barack Obama was elected this country's 44th president. I was so proud of this country for that single act that I wanted to show my appreciation by hoisting a flag over my house.

This was my first time giving in to patriotic fervor. It was my first time, because, as Michelle Obama stated it, and gave critics and enemies talking points to attack her husband, Barack, "For the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country."

After Barack became president, I hoped that my pride of country would continue. It didn't. Birthers, deathers, teabaggers, secessionists, those calling for civil war, and 'I want my country back' crowd, has snatched from me, what was, at best, a tenuous hold on patriotic expression.

To put it bluntly: I'm not proud of this country right now, and it may take the country awhile to win me back over. And, no, I'm not going to run for public office in this lifetime. My "not proud of my country" remark would quickly douse any hopes of that.

Now before you call me non-patriotic, let me say: I probably have more patriotism in my little finger than most have in their whole body.

If you haven't served in the military to protect your country, which I have (I volunteered.), then, don't call me unpatriotic. As a patriot, I've put my life on the line, and have spent four years of that life in service to my country.

Yet, because this country treats me as a foreigner, and gives me step-child status in the American family, this country will either embrace me, or I won't embrace it.

And that's where we stand right now, with an uneasy alliance.

And, like you, I want my voice heard. And to do that, blacks may have to stand apart. Here's my gripe: We need more than two parties representing the people of this country. I know: we have more than two on the books, but only two get play time. As long as Democrats and Republicans are calling the shots, we have to take our marching orders from them.

And yes, others have established major parties to compete with the Big Two. Ross Perot's Reform Party, for one, comes to mind, but many of these third parties become spoilers: They don't garner enough of the votes to go it alone. Here's another suggestion: Rather than launch a candidate, a third party should exist to throw its political clout and weight behind the party that represents their values, or will represent their values. As far as I know, there's no law that says third parties can't parlay their votes, and offer them up for political gain at some later time.

Today, Republicans aren't the party of compromise. Political compromise seems to be a thing of the past, a tactic that is now in disuse. Rather than seeking consensus, and compromise, Republicans have taken up an adversarial relationship to the Democratic party, and to the president in particular. They're more intent on destroying their opponents, than working with them, more intent on shaking up the ground, than in finding common ground--and they do this with a self-righteousness that makes them all the more insufferable.

This is not what I want in a political party--this "do or die" mentality. This passion to destroy the other party, and to see the other party as the enemy, will be this nation's undoing. And I don't think I exaggerate, especially when that political passion goes beyond civility, and Democrats are demonized daily by Right wing pundits.

Yet, this "Do Nothing" Republican Party is not exactly idle. It's busy opposing. And the targets don't matter: It could be something as harmless as a speech by the president to this nation's school students, or a remark during a news conference that a police department behaved "stupidly." The goal is to "search and destroy" the enemy. And the enemy, as always, is the Democrat Party.

Teddy Kennedy's politics is dead in the senate of today. I'm told he was the master of compromise, and oftentimes invited members across the aisle to his home to sit across the table from him as they dined. That kind of civility no longer exists in congress. If it does, it's rare.

And Blue Dog Democrats are more "dogs" than "blue." I know that that is a harsh critique. But so far, they're harder to bring around to the wishes of the whole, than if they represented the opposition. If these Blue Dogs are so fiscally conservative, more Right than Left, then they should switch parties. It's tantamount to having Republican wolves in a Democrat Hen House.

Our politics is increasingly becoming, "of the money, by the money, for the money." Many that are now opposing healthcare reform have been bought off by certain providers within the healthcare industry. This include many in the Do Nothing Party and the Democrat Party. Our flag is for sale to anyone with the money to buy it.

I have one, too. You want to buy a flag!?