Proud to Be

The newsrooms of the country have turned South to examine the drug wars on our border. This has been on my mind for some time because it seems to be what my friends and family always ask about. I haven’t had strong feelings on the matter. I still don’t. Immigration is clearly one of the most divisive issues in our country, yet I can’t bring myself to speak out on it. I live in a border town and issues of national security have been at the forefront of the national news, yet I don’t feel the urgency most writers are putting into their thoughts on the matter. I can see Mexico clearly when I drive to the local outlet mall, yet its troubles seem a world away. My husband worked with one of the victims of the recent upsurge of violence there, yet I am not concerned for the safety of my family.

Some people would conclude that I have fallen victim to the very ideals I love to speak out against. Some would argue that I am denying the reality of the situation because I am happy in my own ignorance. Perhaps they’re right. Perhaps. But I don’t think so.

My son is the only non-Hispanic in his kindergarten class. But it is not a class full of Mexicans. It is a class full of Americans, just like the millions of other classes across this amazing country. He plays with his friends, studies the curriculum, answers to his teacher’s discipline and does his homework. He does all the same things he would do no matter where he lived in America.

When I had occasion to call 911 last week, the police responded in a matter of minutes. There is no lawlessness or drug war here, no more than anywhere else. And while the federal government continues to beef up border security, the crime rate where I live remains among the lowest in the country. I constantly read about hit lists and headless bodies across the border and it feels like they might as well be across the Atlantic.

Why am I posting this? I feel like sometimes I come across as anti-government. I’m not. I believe firmly that the purpose of a government is to protect the liberties of its people. I continue to feel a great sense of pride at being an American. Whatever lawlessness exists a few miles from my home, it is the lawlessness of a land that is not part of the United States. I am profoundly grateful for this country. I hope I have passed that love on to my children.

I feel an immense sense of pride when I see a soldier in uniform. I feel an even greater sense of pride when I see the way my four-year-old's eyes light up because he noticed the solider too. We love our country know that the gratitude we have for those who fight for it requires us to show responsibility for the preservation of our freedom.