WHY I DON'T HAVE TO APPLAUD AMERICA

During a week like this, with Veteran's Day and the Marine Corps birthday around the corner, Americans everywhere show their unbridled patriotism and support for their troops. Even I changed my Facebook profile picture to that of Dear Husband in his dress blues. Why? Because I love him, I support his decision to be a part of the U.S. Military, to defend  the people of our country, and I couldn't be prouder  because he works hard to make his dream of becoming a pilot come true, and he is truly a good man.

But, just because he's in the military doesn't mean I have to toot the Go America! horn everywhere I go, every second of the day. I don't believe that was stated in my "contract" aka Marriage License.

I might be proud of Dear Husband, but right now I am not proud of this country- and I've been getting in trouble lately for vocalizing that. Mostly for joking that I'd like to move to Sweden because they have the system down (Ok, half joking. Sweden is cold!). What I am told is that I'm an Army Wife, how could I not be proud of my husband, or his friends and co workers? How could I say such terrible things about a country they defend? Or the worst I've been told: what if they are reading your blog, they control where you and your husband go (which is just utter BS).

Well these days, it's pretty easy to be upset with America, isn't it? We have a government that is so focused on winning arguments for their own party just because it's their own party, and not for the good of the people. It seems like almost every day there's another public shooting in a school, a mall, at an airport, or a movie theater. Not to mention I used to live in Chicago, let's not get started about the crime rate there.

We live in a country where not everyone is equal. Where you have to fly to another state to get married to the one that you love. Where a woman can get raped, pregnant, and then chastised for not wanting to have the baby. Where the gap between the number of rich and poor grows larger by the day. Where it's growing harder and harder to pay for an education, pay off the loans, and get a job afterwards. Where people believe that if you don't have enough money to pay for health needs, you should be left dead in the street because otherwise it's "socialism."

Don't get me wrong, there is  a lot  I love  about this  country too. The fact that I can even write this blog and post it on the internet without getting arrested is something to be desired in a lot of countries in the world.

But that doesn't mean I have to be stoked about the state of things- most especially our government. That doesn't mean, because I'm an Army Wife, I have to put on a plastic face, sit back and quietly vote without ever using my voice.

I mean, hell, being an Army Wife means I should make my voice LOUDER. If my husband is putting his life on the line for a country and it's people, then I had better do what I can to make it worth fighting for. Everything counts.

With that, I leave you with the slogan from Dear Husband's old unit in the Marines.