Being 'Not' American

What does it mean to be an American? The first thing that it means is that you're so arrogant as to think that the United States is the only country in the world that comprises "America," and so when you say "I'm an American" you don't mean those damned "Mexicans," Mexicans here being a term used interchangeably to describe anyone with brown skin that speaks Spanish. To you, the term 'American' is one that you monopolize for yourself, one whose significance you either forget or ignore. To you, the term 'American' doesn't apply to immigrants, whether illegal or not, forgetting that only a few generations ago, your ancestors were themselves immigrants.

Those ancestors struggled, were paid nothing, and were despised just as much as you loathe those lazy Mexicans. Nevermind the fact that you epitomize the term 'lazy' and you wouldn't have the first clue what hard work truly is. Nevermind the fact that you haven't struggled a day in your life, unless you consider 'struggle' to be that time your power went out and you weren't able to watch UFC or Smackdown. You complain that they're taking your jobs and wasting your taxpayer money, but it's highly likely that you fall into an income bracket where taxation isn't one of your major concerns and the types of jobs that they're 'stealing' are ones you'd never consider lowering yourself to take. Nevermind the fact that you don't actually know a single 'Mexican.'

What else does it mean to be an American? It means you value your personal space above all else, that you live in a world of your very own, and that you care very little about the privacy or well-being of your neighbors. It means you think the other nations of the world should stay out of your business and that you should be able to play global warming tug-of-war with China to your heart's content. It means that you can complain about the environment, but continue to drive an SUV because you're paying "Carbon Credits" and that makes it okay. It means that you believe there is no problem a bunch of money can't fix. It means that you can police the world, but the world is out of line when it tries to resist you, so fuck those fascists!

What else does it mean to be an American? It means that you have more debt than you have assets, that you have no savings, that you'll never be able to pay off your credit cards, and you'll never be able to retire. It means that you are individually representative of the state of your nation, that your life is worse than your parents', your children will not have a better life than you, and their children will have a worse life than that. It means that you've sat on your ass and watched it happen, that your apathy has gotten the better of you, and that you wouldn't know how to fix things at this point even if you wanted to.

What else does it mean to be an American? It means that you are not particularly concerned about what I've just said because you're a greedy, ignorant, self-absorbed, racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, jingoistic, and megalomaniacal piece of shit. It means that the rest of the world laughs at you and your sense of entitlement, and it means that you need a serious attitude adjustment. It also means that in a few years, when the United States is part of the third world, your country is not going to elicit very much sympathy from its creditors. Maybe you should start playing nice with those creditors now?

One day, I will not be an 'American' and I won't regret that decision for a second. The false patriot's typical retort when one criticizes their government or country is to say "love it or leave it." In my case, I'll be overjoyed to oblige them. Others have said that it's not a good idea to give up dual citizenship, that it's convenient to have a US Passport. Well, I'd rather be inconvenienced than call myself an 'American.' Maybe if what it means to be an American should ever change, then so will my opinion, but I don't see that happening soon.