AMERICAN IDENTITY IS NO SURPRISE

An American identity is more than a passport, drivers license, or birth place.

It’s more than bragging rights and USA USA USA.

What is it?

Here’s one take on what it is:

I get sniffily when I hear someone on television remind the audience of the ‘American Dream.’

Not the dream about being a billionaire, living in five houses, and stocking each with the same food and clothes because you ‘want to make sure.’

Also not the dream about owning a fleet of dream cars in Jay Leno’s garage.

The American identity is not a dream.

It’s about giving sick people the help they need, about feeding the hungry, and giving the impression someone cares.

An American identity in this sense isn’t about a cheerleader inspiring the crowd, it’s about administrative grinders pushing to make things happen in a timely manner.

I don’t need to hear threats and promises and theories already proven false.

I like the idea of hope making a comeback, and here’s why:

In 2016 I got a cancer diagnosis. Fuck me, right? Dead man walking.

But I stayed on track, checking all the boxes needed to start the treatment that undoubtedly saved my hide.

I started chemo and radiation near the day Trump took office.

Up until then I had no thought that I wouldn’t start and finish things and move on.

But on that day doubt entered my mind.

The cancer industry pounded their #1 rule hard: once you begin treatment you can’t miss a day.

Don’t miss a day because of weather, not feeling good, or just because.

After the Trump inauguration I wondered if this guy would hear something stupid from some retread kook and put a halt to certain medical treatments.

Not a real moral booster. I didn’t want to consider anything except staying my course.

 

That Would Never Happen?

You never know what happens with a guy with so many bugs in their butt swarming around.

One bug may be an anti-cancer treatment bug?

No way. I hear you.

Fast forward a few years later and what happens?

Jackasses decide they know better than half the American population and revoke Roe v Wade.

In all of the shitty details of some politicians idea of what is medically feasible and what isn’t, women in some states can’t get the  healthcare they need and want.

Maybe your state. Oregon is still on the good side.

Oregon women can make medical appointments to deal with their health concerns.

It’s hard to recognize women’s rights in some states with second and third class status.

Listen, that goes against the American identity where we are all first class.

We have the documents that explain it in clear language.

If the US Constitution isn’t clear enough, move on to the Bill of Rights.

Instead of bowing and scraping and buying weird crap to support a man confused about the identity of America and Americans, we can hear a different tone.

The strength of America is responding to world challenges; the strength of Americans is pulling together so the world can see they have some backup when things take a turn for the worse where they are.

 

Turn For The Worse

Every day of the thirty-five times I mounted the radiation table and had my head bolted down I hoped for the same thing: don’t fuck this up.

I’d do my part, the doctors, nurses, and techs would do theirs, and we’d all live happily ever after.

The whole affair was an ordeal to endure because of the choices I made: no feeding tube in my gut to avoid secondary infections, no opioids to prevent addiction, and more weed brownies for the bad mood of being hungry and in pain.

I took to it like a grinder welcoming the hard road forward.

I also had a secret weapon, my friend Mark. (Hey Mark)

From today’s date it feels like a long time ago, but the warnings still sound.

The women in some states are at risk with their healthcare, pollution is an unsolved problem, racism is still in the minds where it should be banished.

I’m a white man with a high school diploma, an honorable discharge from the Army, college degree, husband, father, and granddad; I’ve got a notion about what is and isn’t an American identity.

We are a beacon of hope, not a ‘shit hole’ country that doesn’t give a rat’s ass.

This is the land of the free and home of the brave, not some skeletal remains of what used to be where hedge fund managers pick through the scattered debris.

The American identity is one where you can set goals and work to achieve them.

Has my life turned out better than expected?

Every day, brother, every day. That’s the identity to support and promote and look for.

I get a little bleary when I hear America calling like it did during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

My heart answers with tenderness when I hear what amounts to “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

What’s the answer to that question? Be helpful.