Patriotism

So, this last day was the fourth of July -- Independence Day for the United States of America.

I love my country, I love it the way I love my family, fiercely but full of the knowledge of its faults. I've been rereading a book (Lies My Teacher Told Me, which is excellent) and thinking about this country of mine.

I dislike the idea of preaching -- I'm no evangelist, that's a huge part of why I don't go to church and don't consider myself terrribly beholden to any religion. I dislike the idea of lecturing even more. That's why I seriously try to avoid ever doing those things. They're... one-way, generally, all about trying to impart one person's noble wisdom onto the masses which is... yeah, not my thing.

I have no noble wisdom or great truth, just things that I think about sometimes. In any government, participation is vital. It's the only way to get your views out there, because no government has mindreaders (and if they did, I doubt they'd be using them for the purpose of better serving the general population). There's a saying that the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and that's generally true. Making noise is often the only to make something noticed.

In a democratic/republican country, that starts at voting, but voting is really the least you can do, the bare minimum where you say -- "Yeah, I'm giving you this money in the form of taxes, so I demand my say." (no taxation without representation, yo) Then there's petitions, donating, protesting. Becoming active in politics. A huge spectrum of ways to help steer the course of your ship.

I've been trying, over the course of the last few years, to get up the courage to be more active in these things -- I called Congressman David Wu about supporting Net Neutrality and he (and/or his aides) sent me back a two-page letter thanking me for calling him and telling me that he was totally on my side (note: this is a paraphrase). I almost died from the giddy shock.

This participation thing is the best way to honor your country, so that's what I'm trying to do. Honor what I believe the U.S. can be. Working on the courage, day by day.

Squee!

The Complete First Series of the new Doctor Who has arrived at my door. Yay! DVD-quality!