Still a patriot...

     There has been a lot of talk on the news and in the blogosphere about Americans moving to Canada. I feel your pain. We look around at our country, and don't recognize some things anymore. Where is the moderate center that always balances things out? Where are my civil liberties? Where is the justice? I understand where you're coming from. Just this past Tuesday I looked at real estate in Ontario.
     But that cute Victorian house I found lasted on my screen only a minute. I've thought about leaving the United States a few times. The last time I seriously considered it was earlier in the year when many states were gearing up to ban gay marriage. I kept thinking that if my country doesn't want me then fine, I'll leave. But then the rainbow fatigues peaked out from the closet and the fight welled up in me. I will not leave what is rightly mine. And as long as I still have the right to protest and express my opinions then there is still hope.
     I will always look to Canada as a beacon of hope and freedom, much as people from decades ago looked at the USA. Canada's Charter of Freedoms is working quite well, while we're still struggling to remember the Bill of Rights. Learning from history is not America's strong suit.
     But I am wholly American, and plan to be for as long as I can live my life in a reasonably free and independent manner. There is still much fight left in me, and although I get frustrated I am far from done. There is still so much work to be done here. There is so much more potential to realize. Looking at the big picture, things are better than they have been. I have to be a part of the solution for America. For myself, for everyone.