Getting Patriotic

When I get patriotic, I think of those who sang of the wonders of this continent, like Muir and Leopold and Thoreau. 

When I get patriotic, I think of those who went out of their way to serve those the land of opportunity wasn't so generous to, like Tubman and Day and Addams.

When I get patriotic, I think of those who bid us stand on our own two wonderfully unique feet, like Whitman and Dickinson and Snyder (each in their own way).

When I get patriotic, I think of those whose minds and work brought an end to suffering of one kind or another, like Salk and King and Muddy Waters.

When I get patriotic, I think of every unknown and unremembered miner, migrant worker, day laborer and busboy that ever did the dirty and hidden work of an often shiny and grandiose society.

When I get patriotic, I think of the faces I see day in and day out, faces from every place on the planet, all of whom are now, irreducibly, American.

When I get patriotic, I remember that, for better or for worse, in good times and in bad, no matter where on this planet I've ever ventured to, this land, this country, these people are home and kin like no other.

And I find that I am grateful in ways I can't begin to describe.