To Susan On the West Coast Waiting*

I figured it out. You know why the questions below bother me so much? Because I haven't been completely convinced of why I should feel patriotism for this country. Don't get me wrong, I love living in Detroit, but I also hate it. This place is a shithole, but I've had some of the best times of my life here, and I'll stand by this city 'til the day I die. On the other hand, I've seen a lot of this country, at least 3/4 of the states. I love Central Park in New York City and the Art Institute of Chicago and the subway in DC. I love the Sunshine Causeway in Tampa, and the fields of wind-energy propellers in the Palm Desert (CA). But, I hated our neighbors when I was five years old and lived in Banning, CA. I hate the extreme and seemingly self-proliferating racial polarization in the neighborhoods of Detroit. I hate that I'm assumed to be a racist simply because I'm caucasian. I hate the gunshots I'm hearing right now in my neighborhood (from the city-wide celebration of the Pistons winning the Championship). I hate that the popular vote doesn't truly elect our 'leader'. I hate that I live in a country whose government is currently saying "fuck the world" just to win a war started under false pretenses so they can win back the popular vote (which is a misnomer anyway). I don't care how hippy it makes me sound, I hate war and the fact that almost every war or international conflict that the US has been involved in since WWII has been a creation of the government - created with the intention of stirring up a recessed economy and gaining the popular vote in the (usually) upcoming elections. I know I won't get caught up in any jingoist emotion when the time comes to place my vote (using a machine created by a man who contributed to Dubya's campaign, by the way).

*listen to Donovan