Ignorant Historian

1. Are you “proud to be an American”?

I’m not very patriotic, but I am happy to be American-born. I don’t think that America is irredeemable, and I’ll continue to pray and work for positive change. I think that we have a good thing going for us and shouldn’t forget where we’ve come from.

2. What is the best fireworks display you’ve ever seen?

I don’t know about best, but I can tell you worst. I was in DC in 2000, and had what we thought would be a good view. Unfortunately, there was no breeze, so after the first few fireworks, all we could see was lit-up smoke. That was a first for this Kansas girl (usually the concern there is that it might be TOO windy for fireworks).

3. What is your biggest patriotic moment?

Voting in my first presidential election (2004…I was a month too young for the infamous 2000 election). My parents had just moved so I didn’t have enough time to request an absentee ballot (I was going to school in Oklahoma), so I drove up just to vote. I missed a quiz that morning, but my professor gave me a 100 because she felt like that was an excellent reason to miss.

4. What is your favorite patriotic song?

I’ve always enjoyed Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” but perhaps not all the sentiments behind it.

5. What is your favorite D.C. monument?

The Vietnam Memorial. I think that the symbolism is the easiest to get and therefore the most meaningful.

You all know I’m a dork, right? The other day I was talking to my roommate about my taste in boys, and I told her I was surprised she didn’t know that I liked dorky guys. She thought I meant that of course I’d like dorky guys because I’m dorky, when I just meant that the guys I’ve liked in the past were dorky and she knew that.  The people who live with you know you best, right?

Along the same lines, the age that I was most excited about reaching growing up was 18.  Why 18?  Because that’s when you can register to vote.  I knew early on that I would just miss voting in the 2000 election by 6 weeks and that bummed me out.

When I registered to vote that first year, I registered Republican.  They were the good guys, right?  I suppose my political philosophy, young as it was, mainly fit in the Republican camp, except I didn’t want legislation against abortion (I held some vague idea that this was forcing your morality on others), wanted capital punishment gone, and could care less about gun legislation one way or the other (this last one is still more or less my view).

Since then, I’ve grown a lot, and not just politically.  I’ve read, listened, thought, and talked out my beliefs, seeking to form a consistent, relevant, and biblical worldview.  Still, I’ve remained Republican, or at least the voting records still said I am.  In the last years, I’ve drawn further away from the Republican party as I recognize that a political party will never accurately reflect my views (unless it’s based on mine, but who wants to follow me?).  When I officially moved my voter registration to North Carolina last year, I registered Republican because I thought I had to in order to vote in the Republican primaries.  Turns out, that’s not the case.

All that to say, I’m proud to announce that I’m now officially “unaffiliated.”