What May Come From All This
Since I haven't actually left the U.S. yet, this preliminary entry is more of a preparation for what is to come. I guess I should start out by telling you what I would like to gain from all of this traveling...Primarily, I hope my journey will somehow shed light on this enigma of a country called America and provide some explanation for why we (as Americans, and as human beings) do things the way we do.
There seems to be a missing element in the fabric of our society today. I yearn for those post-9/11 days when American flags hung on every porch and people would say "God Bless America" with passion and gusto. There seemed to be so much comfort during that period because I knew that even though our country had just been wounded, we were all in this together. I thought that every person walking down the streets of our nation believed in the same thing that I did - that in America, freedom could not be destroyed by simply smashing our buildings and scaring us into submission. No, freedom was a belief that burned in our hearts, the blood of this country and the one thing that no one could steal from us! We were united... and the timing couldn't have been more awkward -this was right after a terrorist attack! But after all the events that unraveled following the 2004 election, our emotions have become stale and the mood has changed. At this point, I'm just too tired of watching this country atrophy economically and politically and am disturbingly happy to leave the U.S. As sad as it sounds, I'm really not all that proud to say that I am an American right now. But it’s not like I want to have this attitude! I think I need a break from this madness. That is why I am leaving the U.S. for awhile and spending time in other countries. I guess it’s sorta like a marriage - when two people get in a fight and need a cooling off period, they separate for some time until they're ready to come together and try to work things out again.
If everything goes as planned, I'll come back to the States with renewed vigor and enthusiasm for being American. But will everything go as planned??
There seems to be a missing element in the fabric of our society today. I yearn for those post-9/11 days when American flags hung on every porch and people would say "God Bless America" with passion and gusto. There seemed to be so much comfort during that period because I knew that even though our country had just been wounded, we were all in this together. I thought that every person walking down the streets of our nation believed in the same thing that I did - that in America, freedom could not be destroyed by simply smashing our buildings and scaring us into submission. No, freedom was a belief that burned in our hearts, the blood of this country and the one thing that no one could steal from us! We were united... and the timing couldn't have been more awkward -this was right after a terrorist attack! But after all the events that unraveled following the 2004 election, our emotions have become stale and the mood has changed. At this point, I'm just too tired of watching this country atrophy economically and politically and am disturbingly happy to leave the U.S. As sad as it sounds, I'm really not all that proud to say that I am an American right now. But it’s not like I want to have this attitude! I think I need a break from this madness. That is why I am leaving the U.S. for awhile and spending time in other countries. I guess it’s sorta like a marriage - when two people get in a fight and need a cooling off period, they separate for some time until they're ready to come together and try to work things out again.
If everything goes as planned, I'll come back to the States with renewed vigor and enthusiasm for being American. But will everything go as planned??
posted by Priyanka at 3:18 PM
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