It was an average afternoon lull at work a couple of weeks ago. As the daily lunch rush subsided the wait staff and kitchen were free to congregate and fraternize while practicing the distinct art of looking busy whenever a manager or head chef was present. I myself was arbitrarily shifting around silverware and napkin arrangements while reminiscing about home with a couple of coworkers, pausing occasionally to deflect the regular political jabs, when I was asked quite a peculiar question. Well, although theoretically, the idea of it wasn't peculiar wasn't so much peculiar as the phrasing, but the actual tone brought with it a thick layer of sarcasm when one of my fellow waiters asked me, "Do you honestly think America is the greatest country in the World?"
At first, I was taken aback; In my 23 years on planet Earth - domestically or not - I have never truthfully been asked about my patriotism. I looked at the girl across the kitchen, and couldn't find a response.
I first thought of my country, America the Beautiful. Up until now, my entire life has been spent in the United States, save the occasional family vacation or brief excursions. I've spent over two decades studying my homeland, reading up on the natural landmass and studying its history and culture - even down to the state-specified articles (Michigan's state rock is the Petoskey Stone in case anyone was wondering). I've fallen in love with my home accordingly, but easily so, as throughout my formative years it was the only thing I'd really known.
Yet after what's transpired in American politics in the last year, every part of me wanted to look her in the eye and tell her how truly ashamed I was of my country of origin. For the last three months I've traveled the deepest of the Southern Hemisphere, all the while taking part in some bizarr-o apology tour on behalf of the United States, assuring every skeptic, repulsed foreigner that in no way Trump is representative of anything American - and yet, looking back now, inauguration was just last week.
It's no secret that I (along with the majority of the American electorate) am sincerely disappointed with the outcome of the election - shocked really, and I'm rightfully angry. Watching a deplorable human being become the complete representation of America to the rest of the world is an awful sensation, and witnessing this brings with it a special sense of despair. Today, in so many eyes, the United States appears to sit on the very edge, ready to renounce so many policies and issues that the voting majority holds dear, and the thought of losing liberties, freedoms, or a healthy planet for our eventual children is almost unbearable. All that oppose the forthcoming administration have no choice but to helplessly watch a vastly under-qualified sociopath make one inflammatory remark after another while these precious rights and liberties hang on the fringe of disaster.
More than any American election I've faced, I've never before been so disappointed, so angry, and so provoked. Yet, I still refused to look my coworker in the eye and tell her that I didn't believe America was the greatest country in the World. The fact of the matter is, I truly do believe America is the best country in the world.
Is America the best country in the world at this current moment, however? I'm going to lean towards a resounding "Hell no." But at the end of the day I have a strong belief in this country that's unwavering; as furious and resentful I am towards everything this administration - with its defunding of women's reproductive rights, the family ties to corrupt business/political practices and the deliberate purging of climate change related information from the White House to name a few points - I'm ready to fight tooth-and-nail to preserve the well-being of my country. Every day for the next four years I plan to fight for the country which I was born; the Land of the Free that I call home.
Freedom, that's one word worth reflecting upon, not only in the last week but for the coming years. As I write this now, I hold no respect whatsoever for our newly elected "President," but still strongly revere the United States of America, a country that not only allows me complete freedom to express all of my beliefs but to act and lawfully work towards the pursuit of such. The beautiful thing about America is the ability we all have to protest, to voice our concerns, and strive to see the best in the country from which we all belong. It is and has always been our job as concerned, indignant citizens to ask for nothing less than the absolute best our country has to offer - from 1776 onward (presuming our "President" doesn't nuke us into oblivion or melt the polar ice caps in the next four years).
After a long, pregnant pause, I looked over to my fellow waiter, and defiantly told her what she had certainly not expected; "Yes, I do honestly think America is the greatest country in the World. Do I think at this moment America is the greatest? No, but I hold it to the standard of being the very best, and I want nothing less than the best for my country as a result."
Even today, looking back at that simple question after all that has transpired on Inauguration Day, I'm thrilled I responded the way that I did. I'm thrilled to have had the opportunity to participate in the Women's Global March on Washington, showing solidarity in one of the largest demonstrations in United States history. Hope alone for the first time since Election Day was drawn from participation with so many that find fault and unethical behavior in the highest seat in the country, and as a result, I'm energized to fight for all of the issues I hold dear. I hope everyone else marching that day, or the millions more in dire opposition to the new administration, or even those of you reading at this very moment, feel compelled to take an active role in our democratic process.
America is beautiful, and America is great. We aren't "Making it Great Again," we're keeping it.
