America has a problem with history. It likes to ignore most of it. It alters details to make it appear as if it were the winner. The righteous shepherd of the world. God’s blessing to Earth. A certain crowd would go as far as to say it’s our given right to impose our will on other lands.

Hypocrisy is today’s standard, but the affliction has always plagued the United States. The supercharged, divisive environment we currently inhabit has its foundation deep in the fringes of our dark past, ignored for decades.

The violent opposition and oppression of immigrants is nothing new; today, it’s just a different dark-skinned person. The economic oppression of the middle and lower classes is right from the playbooks of Rockefeller, Morgan, and Vanderbilt.

America has also elected a Hollywood personality before. We’ve seen military-led suppression of protests, many times with bloodshed. Flimsy justification for military action? Happens every 30 years. Sex scandals? Each election cycle. Allowing racists a platform for legitimate exposure instead of total intolerance towards that behavior? The KKK still exists, and now we have new, exciting variations, like the Proud Boys.

Too often, we focus on our accomplishments, many of which are worthy of pride. D-Day, the moon landings, the community of heroes who rose to the occasion during 9/11, the bravery of those standing up for civil rights, the humanitarian aid provided, especially after World War II, and the development of widespread entertainment are all worthy of celebration.

However, I’m not celebrating. I’m not celebrating because our accomplishments are despite the American way, not because of it. Any innovation in the arts and sciences has business interest funding it. Human rights progress is reactionary at best, and many human rights won over the past half-century are now under threat from money-hungry leaders.

Everything we accuse others of, we are guilty of ourselves. We can no longer claim the moral high ground. It doesn’t have to be this way, but it is. Until more of us stand up to say we’re not proud, we’re not celebrating, we’re not taking part in this anymore, we will continue to perpetuate an image of systemic oppression, imperial violence, and corruption.

I am NOT proud to be an American

I am NOT proud of what this country is.

I am NOT proud of the tyrant heading the executive branch.

I am NOT proud of the sycophants occupying the legislative and judicial branches.

I am NOT proud of the “profits over people” mentality that infests American business.

I am NOT proud of Citizens United.

I am NOT proud of military action against civilians.

I am NOT proud of the vast sums of money dedicated to elections.

I am NOT proud that businesses are considered “people” before people are considered people.

I am NOT proud of the deliberate attack on humanitarian progress.

I am NOT proud of the modern-day concentration camps designed to house claimed undesirables.

I am NOT proud of the millions of people on the verge of a financial crisis caused by a medical disaster.

I am NOT proud of the millions of students who tried to better themselves only to be saddled with crushing debt.

I am NOT proud of the shrinking middle class and the everyday challenges the average person faces.

I am NOT proud of how America treats Puerto Rico as a third-world country.

I am NOT proud of the blatant attacks on those perceived as “different.”

I am NOT proud of the double standards that drive the uniparty political system.

I am NOT proud that we value property development over natural beauty.

I am NOT proud of the lack of accountability in the role we play in the destruction of our environment.

I am NOT proud of the history of my country.

I am NOT proud of the mandatory support for our leaders’ proxy wars.

I am NOT proud of the bloated investment in the military-industrial complex.

I am NOT proud of the hesitancy to stand up against tyranny.

I am NOT proud of active deterrence in voter turnout.

I am NOT proud of the modern justice system that exploits those of color while letting those with money walk free.

I am NOT proud of the response to natural disasters that ravage communities nationwide.

I am NOT proud of the cruel treatment of families seeking a better life.

I am NOT proud of the thin blue line, who frequently abuse their positions of authority.

I am NOT proud of the surveillance state imposed by security agencies in the guise of “protection.”

I am NOT proud that there are more vacant homes than homeless, yet more people live on the streets than ever.

I am NOT proud that millions are hooked on opiates with no hope of recovery.

I am NOT proud of the widespread attack on the sciences and healthcare.

I am NOT proud of the American response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

I am NOT proud that we allow communities across the country to go without clean water.

I am NOT proud of how we left Afghanistan hanging after prolonged conflict.

I am NOT proud of how we didn’t stand up to the aggressive occupation of Ukraine in 2014.

I am NOT proud of how the president who won the Nobel Peace Prize dropped the most bombs.

I am NOT proud of how we allow the taxman to run with little oversight.

I am NOT proud of how we get involved in nation-building, only to pull funding when it's needed most.

I am NOT proud of the opposition to reforming our healthcare, causing Americans to become ever more unhealthy.

I am NOT proud of how we bail out big businesses and banks, but the average person is allowed to drown.

I am NOT proud of how we allow companies to take advantage of consumers, leading to financial tragedies like the 2008 economic collapse.

I am NOT proud that we frequently go to war based on fabricated evidence and without the approval of Congress.

I am NOT proud of the response to natural crises like Katrina, Maria, and Andrew.

I am NOT proud of our response to 9/11.

I am NOT proud of our intelligence failures that led to 9/11.

I am NOT proud of the fear-mongering American media did to spark fears of Y2K.

I am NOT proud of the mass incarcerations of people of color throughout the 1990s under the “War on Drugs” fantasy.

I am NOT proud of the militarized intervention in Waco that left 168 people dead, many of whom were children.

I am NOT proud of the sexual scandals that Clinton engaged in, tarnishing what should have been a time of economic growth.

I am NOT proud of the invasion of Panama, which left nearly 3,000 civilians dead.

I am NOT proud of the indiscriminate attacks on the Highway of Death, which targeted retreating Iraqi soldiers.

I am NOT proud of Reagan, his policies, his lack of intelligence, his stance on the USSR, his selection of cabinet members, and his inability to successfully disarm global nuclear armaments over the definition of “laboratory.”

I am NOT proud of the escalated tensions that led to another explosion in nuclear arms production.

I am NOT proud of how Americans keep electing Hollywood personalities to professional administrative offices.

I am NOT proud of Nancy Reagan’s drug policies, particularly targeting traditionally Black neighborhoods.

I am NOT proud of the American response to the AIDs epidemic, which violently targeted gay communities.

I am NOT proud that businesses sent millions of American jobs overseas, leaving large portions of the country as a dilapidated factory wasteland.

I am NOT proud of the resurgence of KKK violence that led to lynchings.

I am NOT proud of our involvement in both Iran and Nicaragua, which included the sale of arms and drugs, despite an official stance against both.

I am NOT proud of the criminal justice system that allowed for the proliferation of high-profile serial killers.

I am NOT proud of how Carter handled the hostage situation that put hundreds of American citizens at risk.

I am NOT proud of how Ford’s “flip-flop” policies led to economic struggles in the mid-1970s, pushing many middle-class Americans to the brink of financial ruin.

I am NOT proud of Nixon’s pardon, setting a standard for a lack of accountability in government officials.

I am NOT proud of the involvement in Iran that led to the overthrow of their democratically elected government.

I am NOT proud of Nixon’s sleazy corruption that culminated in the Watergate scandal.

I am NOT proud of the elongated involvement in Vietnam, killing thousands of Americans, Vietnamese, Laotians, and Cambodians.

I am NOT proud of how Americans treated Vietnam War veterans, especially POWs, many of whom had no choice in the matter.

I am NOT proud of the draft dodgers and those who paid to avoid military conscription.

I am NOT proud of how racism led to the assassination of MLK, Malcolm X, and Robert Kennedy.

I am NOT proud of the violent opposition to desegregation and the blatant racism faced by millions of American-born citizens.

I am NOT proud of the American abandonment of refugees as Saigon fell to North Vietnamese forces.

I am NOT proud of America’s denial of using harmful substances that continue to cause cancer in American veterans.

I am NOT proud of America bombing civilians, including the use of Agent Orange, which continues to kill Americans and Southeast Asians.

I am NOT proud of the lies told by LBJ to justify American involvement in the Vietnam War.

I am NOT proud of the response to JFK’s assassination, the botched Warren Commission, and the inability to bring the culprit to justice.

I am NOT proud of the kangaroo court that stripped Oppenheimer of his credibility and attacked his character, despite his oversight of one of the most technically complex programs in human history.

I am NOT proud of the massive nuclear arms build-up and excessive testing that left large swaths of the earth’s surface uninhabitable for thousands of years.

I am NOT proud of the multiple failed coup attempts by the CIA in Cuba, Iran, and Central America.

I am NOT proud of the failed diplomacy that led to the construction of the Berlin Wall.

I am NOT proud of the McCarthy witch hunt or the Red Scare.

I am NOT proud of J. Edgar Hoover or the FBI.

I am NOT proud of the extended segregation efforts throughout the 1950s in American cities.

I am NOT proud of the development of thermonuclear weapons, which are an abomination of an abomination.

I am NOT proud of how our weapons testing displaced communities with hundreds or even thousands of years of history on islands in the Pacific.

I am NOT proud of the secret drug and disease experiments on unknowing citizens, leading to the institutionalization or deaths of several individuals, mainly people of color.

I am NOT proud that we let former Nazi conspirators work in critical government agencies just to beat the Soviets.

I am NOT proud of the light sentencing on many of the war criminals of the Axis regimes.

I am NOT proud of the discrimination against Japanese-American citizens after World War II and during the Korean War.

I am NOT proud of how Truman failed to secure a peaceful Europe after the Germans surrendered, leaving much of the continent fragmented.

I am NOT proud of how military leaders spared Hiroshima and Nagasaki just to see how destructive the atomic bombs would be, effectively treating civilians as a science experiment.

I’m NOT proud of the millions of citizens killed in the literal hell on earth, dropped from flying fortresses.

I am NOT proud of the deliberate destruction of cultural gems like Monte Cassino.

I am NOT proud of the Japanese internment camps that housed U.S. Nationals under racist and baseless fears.

I am NOT proud of how many Americans aligned themselves with Nazi ideology throughout the 1930s, including eugenics.

I am NOT proud of the attempted government seizure of private gold under the pretense of economic recovery.

I am NOT proud of the half-assed attempts at sending aid to Great Britain in the face of invasion by Germany.

I am NOT proud of U.S. corporations playing both sides during the first years of World War II.

I am NOT proud that the U.S. offered aid to fascist regimes while maintaining the stance of neutrality.

I am NOT proud of the deliberate labor repression during the Great Depression that targeted labor and union strike leaders, which ultimately stalled economic recovery.

I am NOT proud of the demonization of marijuana by special interest groups that would eventually see the jailing of millions of people on minor charges, primarily people of color.

I am NOT proud of the treatment of African Americans during the 1930s, many of whom had to face forced evictions over housing policies and racist behaviors.

I am NOT proud of the resurgence of the KKK in the 1920s, which led to the literal massacres of black communities and the deaths of thousands.

I am NOT proud of the xenophobic immigration policies that limited non-white immigration in the 1910s and 1920s.

I am NOT proud of the nefarious trading and business behavior that permeated the 1920s, culminating in the collapse of global economies by October 1929.

I am NOT proud of the violent suppression of labor protests that saw armed militia members open fire and kill women and children during the “Coalfield War.”

I am NOT proud of the outright attacks on First Amendment rights under the Espionage and Sedition Acts.

I am NOT proud of the brutal treatment of Filipinos during the Philippine-American War.

I am NOT proud of how America claimed not to have colonial interests yet annexed the Philippines instead of recognizing their independence.

I am NOT proud of the eugenics-inspired forced sterilizations that targeted women of color and disabled people.

I am NOT proud of the violent discrimination against Chinese immigrants despite using their next-to-free labor to build private American infrastructure.

Chinese immigrants work on the railroads.

I am NOT proud of the Plessy v. Ferguson decision, which upheld segregation and the widespread proliferation of Jim Crow laws.

I am NOT proud of the brutal massacres of Native American populations, the most recent of which happened barely more than a century ago in 1911.

I am NOT proud of the unchecked Gilded Age wealth accumulation, resulting in the personal fortunes of the top 0.1% of people reaching historic heights, rivaling the rulers of empires.

I am NOT proud of the stalled reconstruction efforts, the indentured servitude, and the emergence of segregation.

I am NOT proud of the KKK or their emergence as an organization dedicated to hating people for superficial reasons.

I am NOT proud that the United States went to war with itself over the ownership of people, whereas most of enlightened Europe and the rest of North America had abolished slavery peacefully decades or centuries earlier.

I am NOT proud of the destruction wrought by the Civil War, Sherman’s March to the Sea, the brother-against-brother bloodbath, and the murder of people over the ownership of humans.

I am NOT proud of the Fugitive Slave Act and Dred Scott, which enforced the brutal treatment of African Americans.

I am NOT proud of the Trail of Tears and the brutal displacement of Native American populations, all of which resulted in the deaths of millions of people.

I am NOT proud of the Mexican-American War and the imposed expansion through violent conquest.

I am NOT proud of the economic exploitation of Chinese laborers in mines and on railroads, which involved many deaths, poor treatment, inhumane living conditions, and virtually no pay.

I am NOT proud of the Annexation of Texas.

I am NOT proud of Andrew Jackson or his oppressive campaigns against Native populations.

I am NOT proud of the violation of Spanish sovereignty in Florida, resulting in the pursuit of enslaved people and violent resistance against Seminole groups.

I am NOT proud of the systemic assault on U.S. Native populations through complicated debt traps.

I am NOT proud of the Missouri Compromise.

I am NOT proud of the chattel slavery economy that dominated the upper-class life of the southern states.

I am NOT proud of the Constitution, which enshrined slavery with the 3/5ths clause, fugitive-slave provisions, and lack of protected rights for women.

I am NOT proud of the mass executions of Native peoples in the name of Western expansion.

I am NOT proud of the violent enforcement of taxes as part of the Whiskey Rebellion after having just fought a war with taxes being a primary motivator.

Reflecting on America’s accomplishments

We’ve accomplished so much as a country in 250 years. Whereas other countries took hundreds or thousands of years to rack up a list of atrocities this comprehensive and includes violence, deception, lies, murder, genocide, war, economic attacks, citizen oppression, exploitation, valuing business over people, and expansionist behavior, America had its foot on the gas the entire time.

History is taught in schools through patriotic nationalism and curated narratives designed to support the flawed ideology that America is the best; god bless America. The reality is much darker. Our country is stained with the blood of Native communities, poor people, people of color, immigrants, political opponents, non-Christians, and perceived cultural deviants.

We may pretend to be morally superior to the other nations of the world. Hell, we acted as much throughout the entire Cold War. Reagan’s “Evil Empire” speech encapsulates the mindset of Americans through the nearly four-decade conflict. Yet, during much of that time, the United States was just as guilty as the Soviet Union was. We just had a shiny coat of paint applied to everything.

Reagan giving his “Evil Empire” Speech to Congress.

We engaged in the overthrow of numerous governments. We conducted unethical medical experimentation on our civilians. We engaged in unjustified wars. We committed genocide. We engaged in fraud. We’re guilty of colonization. We’re guilty of theft. We’re guilty of all the evils we claim of others.

So, for every one positive contribution to the world, from the moon landing to GPS, the United States is guilty of 100 crimes against humanity. I am not a proud American. And I do not celebrate my country.

I am NOT Proud to Be an American

I am NOT proud to be an American

Reflecting on America’s accomplishments

Weaponized Words: Equipping Students to Recognize and Resist Modern Propaganda