I'm Pro-America (and so can you!)

With apologies to Stephen Colbert, the patron saint of liberal wiseacres everywhere, for ripping off the title. There has been a good deal of talk lately in the world of politics over who is a true American, and where the pro-America places are. Apparently the roughly 80% of us who live in urban, suburban, or exurban areas are on the wrong side of the divide, at least if you listen to certain vice-presidential or congressional candidates. This is so ridiculous on its face that it is hard to believe it is actually used on the campaign trail, it is the type of stuff that is better suited for vitriolic chat rooms where people shout at each other in all caps while making absurd claims that have little basis in reality. But here we are, less than two weeks away from the big election and this is part of the debate, such as it is.

Here is what being a liberal progressive in the early part of the 21st century doesn’t mean, and more importantly what it does mean. For starters it doesn’t mean that you are a socialist. It doesn’t mean that you want to stifle the economy with oppressive taxes, because that would be counter productive to a healthy and vital economy, which matters to most anyone who has to work for a living. However it does mean that you are in favor of fair and equitable redistribution of wealth, so that those who benefit the most from the society we live in are required to pay more of the costs of keeping that society running smoothly.

Nobody is suggesting that having rich people pay the share of taxes they had to pay before Bush the budget buster came into our lives is any way to get out of a recession. That will only be accomplished when corporate America wakes up and realizes that by keeping wages artificially low for the last couple decades they have squeezed the American worker to the point where we can’t afford to buy the junk they are selling us anymore.

It doesn’t mean that you don’t want to win wars. But it does mean that you don’t want to fight unnecessary and costly wars just because they are out there. One of Marlon Brando’s great lines, back in the days before he got old and blew up like Alec Baldwin, was when, in response to the question what are you rebelling against replies, whatcha got? Great movie line, but not such a great foreign policy response to the question of what wars are you up for fighting? We are all for a strong defense and for keeping our nation safe, but we are not in favor of fighting wars for any other reason, on moral as well as economic grounds, not to mention plain old common sense.

Lastly, it doesn’t mean that you don’t love your country, in fact quite the opposite. It means that you care enough to complain and criticize when you see the nation that you love and the values you hold dearly being put in jeopardy. It means you speak out and exercise your first amendment rights whenever and wherever you can because you want your country to continue to stand for what is right in the world and to be an example of what is possible when the planet’s most powerful military and economy are used to make the world a better and safer place.

I am pro-America, just as my thoughtful conservative friends are, and the fact that we can disagree respectfully is a symbol of what makes this country great. It’s also in itself what makes us stronger as a nation and a society, because when all ideas are put on the table, and the free marketplace of ideas is allowed to work, we end up with the best ideas winning the day and we are all better off for that.