A Change of Perspective

I got a phone call Saturday from someone at the boarding kennel that I have used to take care of my dogs when I need to be out of town. 

She informed me that the kennel will be closing for good on a date in September. The staff at this kennel have taken care of my dogs over the years for 16 years. The facility has been in operation for more than 60 years. 

The building itself is showing its age, and it doesn't have the amenities that many boarding kennels seem to have: play groups, swimming pools, etc. But the staff throughout these 16 years has been wonderful. They take really good care of my dogs, who happily walk off with whichever employee comes to my car to escort my dogs into the kennel. The owner has also been great to work with. The same is true of the office staff. So to say I was shocked to hear the news that Dan is retiring and the kennel will be closing for good was a real shock. 

I have already booked a stay for my dogs in October, which means I now need to find a new boarding kennel. In addition to boarding, there's a groomer who works there who has taken great care of my dogs' grooming needs. The kennel also has been active in helping homeless animals. 

Another organization runs a pet food bank that is located at the kennel. The future of this pet food bank is now in serious jeopardy. If it goes away, that means untold numbers of people will have to find other ways of providing food for their dogs and cats. I'm hoping that a new location for the pet food bank can be found. 

I have started the search to find a new boarding kennel for my dogs. 

Hearing that this kennel will close for good in September really distressed me. But after feeling sorry for myself because I have to start looking for a new place to board my dogs, I realized that I need to change my perspective. 

Yes, I am being inconvenienced by the closure of the kennel. But my inconvenience is nothing compared to the impact of the closure on many other people. The pet food bank will most likely close. And all the kennel employees, some of whom have worked there for many, many years, now have to find new jobs. Finding a job in this economy isn't easy. 

So I have decided to start doing what I need to do, and to accept the situation in which I find myself. Realizing that the impact of the closure on me is much less than on a lot of other people, makes moving forward without distress a whole lot easier.

This Flag Is Mine

 That's right. 

The American flag is mine. If you're a black American, this flag is yours. If you're Asian-American, this flag is yours. If you're Hispanic, this flag is yours. If you're female or male, gay or straight, this flag is yours. Whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, an independent, a libertarian or a supporter of the Green Party, this flag is yours. If you are a legal immigrant, a naturalized citizen or someone living here illegally while hoping to become an American citizen, the flag is your, too.

It appears that the American flag has been co-opted by the maga movement, that they are, in their minds at least, the only truly patriotic Americans. But patriotism is so much more than simply wrapping oneself in the flag. 

Being patriotic means having a deep love and support for your country. It balances cherishing our country's values and history with the willingness to hold it accountable, striving for positive progress, and respecting the diverse fellow citizens who make up the community. It doesn't mean whitewashing or removing the parts of our country, such as slavery, that are embarassing to us. It does mean accepting and dealing with our nation's mistakes and striving not to repeat them. It means working to treat all people as equals regardless of gender, race, age or ethnic background. 

Seeking to bring in several thousand white South Africans because of the color of their skin is not patriotism. It is racism, pure and simple.

True patriotism is distinct from nationalism. While patriotism is rooted in devotion and civic duty, nationalsim can become dangerous when it seeks power, demands conformity, or inspites hatred toward others. This is precisely what we are seeing in America under the current regime. Acting to remove those with temporaty ptotected status, as is the case today with hundreds of thousands of people from Haiti and Syria who are facing deportation because they happen to have black or brown skin is not patriotism.

There are those who tell those of us who refuse to celebrate America's 250th birthday. There are those who say if we don't love this country, we should leave. Actually, the exact opposite is true. We will not leave America because we love her so much. We refuse to sit by and do nothing while our country, our Democratic way of life, are stolen from us.

The colors of the American flag are red, white and blue. They're not white or brown or black. They are red, white and blue. And I pray that someday soon we will take back our flag and show the world what it truly stands for.

No Celebration For Me

On July 4th, the United States will mark its 250th birthday. 

Compared with many other nations, the US is still a youngster. But with all that has been happening to this country under the current regime, I have to wonder how much longer America will continue to exist as we have always known it. No longer is our country a beacon of hope to the world. Racism, misogyny, greed and corruption should be the new motto of America. We are no longer the land of the free and the home of the brave. We are now the land of the oligarchs and the home of the most greedy. Not much to be proud of, is there?

I am not excited about celebrating this milestone anniversary. Everything in this country has been hijacked by the dictator currently occupying the White House. Recently, he and his cronies held a massive so-called Christian rally on the mall in Washington, DC, paid for, of course, by the US taxpayer. 

We must not overlook the hypocrisy and the irony of the driving force behind this pseudo religious rally being a convicted sex offender, a 34 times convicted felon, someone who has cheated on all three of his wives, who is a con man, a convicted rapist, a racist and a misogynist and who is obviously mentally unfit to lead this country. And let's not forget that he doesn't go to church, and the only thing he worships is money. This is the same person who released an AI generated image of himself as Jesus Christ.

For those who need reminding, the United States is not now, and has never been, a Christian nation. Our founding fathers were very clear about their intentions to keep this country from its very founding as a nation beholden to no single religion. The Constitution itself states that the government shall not establish a religion.

Ostensibly as part of the celebration of America's 250th birthday, but in actuality a celebration of the dictator's 80th birthday, the dictator arranged to have a UFC nofight on the White House lawn inside a huge cage. Supposedly the cage is going to be removed, if it hasn't already, but the lawn beneath the cage has been totally destroyed.

I suspect that I am not the only American feeling apathetic about America's 250th birthday. The political polarization in this country is extremely widespread and very deep. The economy is in the toilet. So many people are struggling to provide food and pay for housing and medical care, not to mention the sky high price of gasoline. And what is the regime planning as part of the celebration? A so called American State Fair. As of this writing, this has been a total flop. Rather than the thousands of people the dictator was expecting, daily attendance has been in the hundreds. 

I think the only positive thing to come out of this alleged celebration of America's birthday is the fact that by a six to three margin, the Supreme Court ruled that the 14th amendment must be followed. This amendment allows that any child born in America, regardless of the immigration status of the parents, is a US citizen. 

It's inconceivable to me that something that is an integral part of the US Constitution had to be ruled on by the Supreme Court. It's also incredible that three of the justices voted to overturn the 14th amendment to the US Constitution. 

So I will not be celebrating this independence Day. I just can't. I love my country, and I hope and pray that before too long we will begin the long and arduous task of returning this country to its former principles and standards.