8-2-11

I was born in America and am an American citizen. Growing up, I had a lot of pride for America in elementary school whenever we would discuss events like the Civil War (being from the Land of Lincoln, this was a very proud point), World War I, and World War II. I grew up in the nineties and thought that America was the best country in the world for a long time. But, then I got to high school. I started learning about our darker past that had been hidden from me as an elementary student. I learned about how America actually knew about Concentration Camps in Germany and chose not to enter the war at the point, institutionalized racism, became politicized, realized how corrupt many of our systems as a country were, and realized that I was gay- and, therefore, a kind of outsider in my own country.
I was, to say the least, a little disenfranchized. I resented my country a little bit. But, as I ventured into college, I decided that this was a healthy response. I spent a great deal of time researching Weimar, Germany, Berlin, Christopher Isherwood, the politics of adaptation, the Holocaust, the history of the pink triangle, and the rise of Nazism. I came away with the conclusion that blind nationalism is one of the singularly most terrifying things in the world. When I see people waving the Confederate flag, feel bad for them.