Michelle, I’m proud to be an American, too

Michelle Obama said something clumsy months ago—and she got beat up big time for it. You remember: “For the first time in my adult life, I’m proud of my country” she said. Well, that was awkward—and it got Michelle Malkin and the far right raving and scolding.

Now, I'm a registered Republican (though more a RINO than anything these days). But I think that tomorrow’s inauguration will be one of my proudest days as an American (though Obama’s election night gave me goosebumps aplenty, too).

I’ve lived abroad twice, both times in Germany—before the Berlin Wall and most of Communism came down in 1989. Back then, even when it was safer to pretend to be Canadian, I wore my US flag on my backpack all around Europe. I was super-proud to be an American in a land that had been so blessed by my country-- not just by the brave American soldiers who liberated them, but by the internationalist Marshall Plan of 1947 under Democrat Harry Truman. So I get it when Lee Greenwood sings his omnipresent patriotic song, God bless the USA (I’m Proud to be an American). The song has a lot of lines to recommend it, including this:

And I’m proud to be an American, where at least I know I’m free.
And I wont forget the men who died,who gave that right to me.

But let’s be real, Lee. Although I’m very proud of our soldiers’ sacrifices, pride is really a non-transferable item. I can’t be too proud that other people died to give me my freedom; the emotion that's more called for is gratitude. I’ve only got a right to be proud of things that I’ve done, or that I’ve been a part of. And that’s why I’m so excited about tomorrow.

See, I voted for Obama. And I believe that it was honest and open-minded Jesus-followers (of whom I’m bold enough to try to number) who bucked our predicatable Christianity, Inc. culture to help elect him. We saw in him a leader who’s not only smart AND honorable (a winning combo not seen together since Bush 41 IMHO), but also eloquent, faith-filled, and, in a country that should be ashamed of its lingering racism, inspirational.

Am I excited that inner-city African-American teenagers are watching a black man become President--and finally dreaming that all things are possible for themselves, too? Darn right I am. Did I get a lump in my throat last fall when I saw a roomful of old black grandmas beaming smiles while wearing Obama pins with pictures of his family--and the words, America’s Next First Family? Darn right I did.

Tomorrow I’m gonna be prouder than ever to be an American. And not because I know I’m free; I’m grateful all the time for that. But I am proud of being part of the effort to bring a sign of freedom in a new dimension to the country I love. I’m proud to belong to a generation that's uninterested in the bellicose bickering of our parents’ more self-righteous cohorts. And I’m proud to be a citizen of a greater nation than I’ve ever been part of before: the UNITED States of America.

And as imperfect (and indeed, maybe as ineffective) as Obama might be, I’m proud to have helped bring inspiration to a world eager to see our country as a beacon of freedom and a defender of justice once again. I don't hear this old tune much on my country radio dial, but I like it better:

America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.