Wanting to be better for All

I was the perfect child when it came to embracing the red, white and blue. I soaked up all the stories, songs, holidays, customs, etc. which promote the celebration of all things U.S.A. Any holiday where stars and stripes were flying high all around was delightful to me. Our school system does a good job of programming this sentiment into children during elementary grades. Well, at least for me being of white, European descent. I am not so sure my classmates of other ethnicities would felt the same.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, I have read and traveled enough to realize most of those patriotic lessons are incomplete at best and lies at worst. This past week in Celas Maya has been a ¨not so proud to be American¨time. A woman from Spain, whom I encountered while staying in a hostel in the Catskills, once asked me what Americans had to be so proud about (in reference to all the ¨proud to be American¨products). I think it is an excellent question and one I have pondered on and off since it was proposed.

In general I am not all that proud to be an American. We are responsible for a lot of crappy actions in the world, and all the good things we have been part of do not forgive us of these. Some Americans would become irate with these sentiments and tell me I should go live somewhere else if I think so poorly of the USA. How amusing! How can someone on one hand believe so whole-heartedly in all things American and also so quickly toss aside what for many is the most important aspect of our culture and governmental structure -- the right to disagree with and to challenge it. Is it so terrible that I want our government and our nation to do better?

Historically every nation with any global authority, power, influence (however you want to express it) has misused this position for its own interests. The USA is the most recent example, however, living in Guatemala I am not blind to the history of others. The thing about history is that it really never stops living in the present. You cannot pretend that yesterday has no impact on today. Well you can try, but it will not become a reality.

Tuesday night Morgan, Freddy, Jim and I (other too, of course) attended a conference ¨Crossing the Frontier¨ hosted by EntreMundos regarding the experiences of Guatemalans entering the United Stated illegally. It was told by a Belgian who had taken it upon himself to travel to the USA in the same way his adopted Guatemalan son had done. (His mission was to get his son back to Guatemala, but he knew he could not do this without making this journey.) What I have been left thinking about the most were his reactions to being incarcerated in the USA (yes, he was captured, arrested and detained for a couple of months). Should undocumented immigrants, whose only illegal action was crossing a border without appropriate paperwork, be treated in the same manner as a criminal? It is an interesting question. He acknowledges they did something wrong, but their actions are not in common with other sorts of illegal actions. And what about the 55% of undocumented immigrants who entered legally and then stayed beyond the terms of their visas? Peter was held at the largest immigration detention center in San Antonio, Texas where he shared the private company who runs the jail receives $300/day per detainee in government contracts and only spends $80/day per detainee. That is a pretty good profit margin, don`t you think. So glad to know this is where our tax dollars are being invested.

Then yesterday I attended a conference at Celas Maya regarding the Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Guatemala (1944-1954) and that afternoon watched the movie Innocent Voices about the civil war in El Salvador. In both cases the United States government was responsible for providing the weaponry and/or training the soldiers who carried out murderous acts. Most of this was done under the ¨noble cause¨of fighting communism, unfounded accusations against legitimately elected officials who did not lead their country based on the interests of the United States. Innocent Voices (Voces Innocentes) is a beautifully, sad movie which I recommend to everyone. It was also recommended to me to read the book ¨Bitter Fruit¨about the war in Guatemala.

While I prefer to learn this history, it places a heavy weight upon my heart which at times is hard to bear. At the same time it drives me to want to be better and to push my country to be better for everyone everywhere.