What does Love of Country Look Like?

"I love America more than any country in the world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually"... James Baldwin

Middle Class Aspirations

It might surprised some but I don't hold middle class aspirations. I don't aspire to the social rewards that society has laid out for those that follow the rules. Middle class aspirations are connected to the perpetuation of the privilege of American values. Sadly, these values seem to be above critique and collectively we steadily accepted the values as the common sense approach to life. However, I believe that there is more to life than the accumulation of worthless materials and self-depreciating commodities. Life should be rooted in seeking to create a sustainable way of life for all of humanity. This reality cannot be created as long as the inhabitants of the most privileged country on earth are continuously motivated by the allure of excess. So, no I do not aspire to the cleverly crafted American dream because I cannot in good conscience sleep peacefully when I know my dream is creating an endless nightmare for others.

Carrying the Cross

Sadly, it seems that we've been conditioned to believe that the carrying of the cross requires no sacrifice. Masses of Christians have been taught to believe the example of Christ is simply a cautionary tale and not a blueprint for our lives.When we were admonished to not love the world we stubbornly resisted. Choosing rather to embrace the sanitized version of Christ where he serves as nothing more than a genie who grants our wishes.We have contaminated the message of Christ with capitalistic themes.Seeking to align the message of Christ with the elite. Hoping that this alignment will relinquish us from the call of sacrifice that we've most certainly been called to. Truthfully, we must begin to acknowledge that carrying our cross does not lead us into the comfort of privilege but yet pushes us on the path of self-sacrifice. We are expected to challenge the stagnate culture that seeks to engulf humanity in webs of socially induced narcissism. Our cross cannot be an accessory it must fundamentally transform us into revolutionaries for justice. Will we allow for our cross to alter the direction of our lives? Or we will simply allow for our cross to be an afterthought on our journey towards capitalistic defined models of success? The choice is ours what will we choose?