Some months ago I sent a letter to the editor in which I described the current administration in less than flattering terms.
I prefaced it by saying it isn’t easy to be a Republican these days.
At this point I wouldn’t revise the terms, but I would revise the preface:
It isn’t easy to be an American these days.
Harsh words. And they don’t come easily.
I was in an infantry division during World War II and in the process learned a bit about war. When I returned it was extraordinarily easy to be an American.
For a half century it was one of the easiest things I have done. Even as a student in France, it came naturally.
But that was then and this is now.
I’m not a flag-waver, but I’m proud to be an American.
But I’m not proud of our leaders. They’ve made a monumental mess and, unfortunately, it’s up to today’s kids to clean up the mess.
We can’t reinvent the world with guns, and I have little respect for those who have bedazzled themselves into thinking we can. They’re hypnotized by power and power corrupts.
The toughest kid on the block can be a protector or a bully and we’ve chosen the latter.
I’ll always be proud to be an American, but these days it doesn’t come easily.
