On being “anti-American”

One of the bullshit things that conservative media say about #OccupyWallStreet is that the protestors are “anti-American.” That makes me pretty pissed off, because freedom of speech & assembly are founding values. Hell, that we had our protests suppressed when we were an English colony is part of what made this nation have the character it does. It’s in our history. It’s in our national blood.

But, fuck it, let’s play along. Let’s say it’s “anti-American.” You know what else has been anti-American in the past? How about being anti-slavery? Or against Japanese internment in WWII? Or being pro-labor? Things we value today were once anti-American. (And not to say anything about how being an atheist is “anti-American.” Freedom of religion includes the freedom to have none, and I say that as a man with belief in a god.)

So, fuck it, sure, I’m “anti-American.” I don’t want this America we have today. I want the one we’re shooting to have tomorrow. I’m pro-that America. And fuck this neo-McCarthyism in its ear.

- Ryan

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