This is an opinion piece. It expresses my opinion and only my opinion. I hope, after you read this, you will agree with me. I understand that you may not. Either way, I look forward to reading your comments in the Comments Section at the end. – Claire Murray
“I Do Not Believe…”
At a private dinner featuring Governor Scott Walker, Rudy Giuliani said, “I do not believe, and I know this is a horrible thing to say, but I do not believe that the president loves America. He doesn’t love you. And he doesn’t love me. He wasn’t brought up the way you were brought up and I was brought up through love of this country.” (Darren Samuelsohn, Politico)
What does Rudy mean? What is he trying to say? This is my opinion of what he means when he says these things:
If President Obama doesn’t love America and he wasn’t brought up the way we were brought up, what is the message?
I think the message is code for President Obama is not like us. He’s not a true American like we are. In other words, he’s not white. And, if you’re not white, you can’t be patriotic and love America. Everyone in the United States today knows that only white people are patriotic and love America. It comes with the skin color.
When I first heard Rudy’s comment, I started thinking about the future, say 35 years from now. That’s not so far away. According to current predictions (CNN), by 2050 the majority of American citizens will be Afro-Americans, Hispanics, Asians and other people of color. They’ll have the tan skin that we white people lay out in the sun for hours trying to acquire.
If all these people don’t love America because they’re not like us, how is the U.S. going to survive?
Maybe the problem is, Rudy doesn’t know what it means to be patriotic and love America. Maybe he wasn’t as lucky as I. He didn’t learn about patriotism and how to love America in school.
I learned about it a long time ago when I was a child. It meant starting each school day pledging allegiance to the flag and singing the Star- Spangled Banner. It meant learning American history, especially about the early heroes and founders of our country, people like George Washington, James Madison and Crispus Attucks.
I don’t think Rudy learned about Crispus. He was the first man shot and killed in the Boston Massacre. This was the first battle in the Revolutionary War. Crispus was black. Giving his life for his country, for people like you and me, and even Rudy, I feel, makes him very patriotic. He loved America before there was a country to love.
So, Rudy, maybe you want to rethink things. All people can be patriotic and love America if they choose to. Skin color doesn’t make you patriotic. Your actions do.
Your comments?
Additional References:
US Census Bureau
December 12, 2012: https://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/population/cb12-243.html
March 2015: https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2015/demo/p25-1143.pdf
8 comments
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Claire, I wholeheartedly agree with you.
Why does Rudy Giuliani believe that President Obama doesn’t love America? Has he presented any facts that prove his statement to be true? No. He just made a blanket statement about our president that, unfortunately, some uninformed people will believe. Is Giuliani saying that the only patriotic people are white people born in the United States under his same circumstances? (Hawaii became our 50th state on August 21, 1959 and our president, whose mother was white, was born in Hawaii in 1961.) Giuliani’s statement would also question the patriotism of every immigrant, including his own family members, who were not brought up to love American initially.
Claire, I agree that your actions make you patriotic.
Thanks Barbara for your comments. I agree and especially like the way you said it.
Thanks Kook-Wha. I appreciate your comment.
It is coplicated issue. I enjoyed to read it with thinking my origin.
Anyone who has ever served in the military will tell you patriotism is worn on the inside. Only symbols are worn on the outside. Rudy Giuliani never served; he only knows the symbols. Surprising, given his grandfather’s Italian immigrant status.
I’m surprised also, especially after his experience with September 11.
The title caught my interest. Read the article and find some places, at one time, displaying the flag no longer do so anymore. This makes me wonder how much farther the lack of Love of Country will go in my lifetime.
Thanks for commenting. I hadn’t thought of that before.