Dear Mr. Randy,
As you can see, I have refused to refer to you as “Brother.” As an American and a Christian, I can safely say that you are no brother to me or to anyone. Your willful ignorance and bigotry disgust me and I am ashamed to be called your countryman.
Before you instantly jump to conclusions and proclaim me a traitor, I’ll have you know that I’m proud to be an American. Yes, I am. I am not ashamed to be American any more than I am ashamed to live in this country. This does not stop me from acknowledging its failings or the shameful parts of its history. Nor does it stop me from criticizing our current president. I believe it was a former U.S. president, Theodore Roosevelt, who said that dissent was patriotic, and indeed, it is. That is one of the great strengths of our country, the fact that dissent is allowed without torture or punishment. Dissent would be considered treasonous if this was a dictatorship, but this country is not a dictatorship and hopefully never will be. I do not consider myself a traitor when I say that I am very disappointed with how President Bush has conducted his affairs, both here and abroad. His America and mine do not match. The America I believe in does not torture people. The America I believe in and strive for does not invade countries for pointless reasons and occupy them by force. The America I believe in does not purposely alienate and ignore its global neighbors.
I do not like anti-Americanism any more than you do. Yes, we unfortunately do still have some Ugly Americans in this country (that includes you) and ignorant, xenophobic twits who should not be allowed to speak for America. Yes, some countries are still experiencing the negative effects of our greed and moral blindness, both past and present. But I wish that non-Americans would focus their anger more towards our government than our people, that they would remember to judge the man and not the country. Nevertheless, I do recognize that some of their complaints are valid and it would do us good to listen to them.
I love my country, but I do not believe it to be the best in the world. You may believe this to be a contradiction, but I assure you, it is not. Quite honestly, I cannot really name any country as the best. I believe that every country, no matter how rich or how poor, no matter how liberated or how oppressed, has something to offer to the world. It may be something great and impressive, such as new technology or a strong stand on human rights; it may be something smaller on the grand scale, such as food, music, or its natural environment. I have deep admiration for the countries of Europe, Asia, and other parts of the world for the contributions that they have made, both to their peoples and to the global community.
As to your remark about the impracticality of having a “spineless tree-hugger” as president, I answer you with this: would it really be so bad? Would it be so bad to actually care about the environment? Would it be so bad to take steps to protect and nurture the environment, which would benefit us all? You seem to be convinced that the Earth revolves around America, whereas in reality, America is merely one of the countries located on this Earth.
Thus concludes my long rant. I have nothing more to say to you, Randy. My parting words shall be for the non-American viewers on this forum. I know that you all are probably sick and tired of hearing this, but I apologize for this moron. I know that all of you are intelligent enough to realize this, but please don’t think that he represents us. He does not speak for me and never will. That’s all.