jackiedoherty.org

I’m one of those Americans who love my country, the ideals on which it was founded, and especially my right to criticize its leaders. But I do not always love my government—particularly the current administration and its eight years of misguided policies. (That’s why we vote.) When I heard about Michelle Obama’s comment last February, “for the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country,” I knew where she was coming from and I was okay with it. I was okay with her being proud of how momentous this presidential primary is in the history of our nation, and I was okay with her not being proud of other moments from our past. It was a comment, however, that caused quite a stir in conservative GOP circles, and perhaps brought some angst to Barack Obama’s campaign.  For me, it snapped into humorous focus the other night when Jon Stewart quipped on the Daily Show: “Democrats have to prove they love America… as opposed to Republicans—who everyone knows love America—they just hate half the people living in it.”