The "patrioticness" of it all...

I can't promise new entries every day or every week since I go by what my heart tells me when it comes to writing you may as well know that for most of us writers and artists a lot if not all comes from that thing there that beats for life of life. So am I even patriotic at all? To answer that I simply say well...… I didn't become a naturalized citizen for no reason. If anyone knows what that process is like then you know its very difficult and selective in my opinion. My own country Jamaica gets respect from me because they produced me and others like me who are in their hearts Jamaicans or immigrants who came here to make a better life. So I can't un-Jamaican myself even if I wanted to its in my blood. However, my heart does split when it comes to how patriotic I am. I am as patriotic of my birth country, as I am of the US, why? Because the US is a damned good country and there is no two ways about that. Yes there are unfair systems out there, yes there is racism out there, yes half of us came from elsewhere, with that said, since earning the right to vote I don't waste it because when you don't vote in my opinion, you give the power to whoever won. Collective voices and reasoning matter for a very good reason enough for me to not sit home. So for me voting does matter.

Sidenote: I digress. Yesterday I saw a man in the middle of the street asking for change. He got, but I thought to myself, he is White, I am Black, but he for some reason does not see my skin. So I give when I can to some of them because in my opinion, they do not have the time or the mindset in their current position to refuse the help, therefore race is the last thing they see as they would rather to take the money. In my opinion also, most people you walk by on the streets if they are in a position as to be homeless or are asking for change for whatever reason they need it for, to me these are among the least racist people on planet earth and they come in all different shapes, sizes, and color. Do they call us names after we give and leave? Probably or probably not, but for those brief seconds where I feel kindness is exchanged I like to think there is some mutual respect even if they don't see it that way.