"America - Love It Or Leave It"
Now, as a child growing up in the late sixties and early seventies, I was exposed to a variety of bumper stickers and their clever or thoughtful messages. The cheery yellow smiley faces, the green marijuana leaves or the broken cross peace symbols in various psychedelic hues - not to mention the messages like "Out Now!" or "Four More Years!" - were all recognizable mirrors in which we saw the reflection of the person who placed the message in our sight.
But this one puzzled me, this patriotic sticker with the words that seemed both proud and angry. "America - Love It Or Leave It." "What does that mean?" I remember asking my father from my spot in the back of the blue station wagon.
"Some people think you shouldn't criticize your government, even if it's doing something wrong," my dad explained to me. "If you're not happy with the way things are here, you should get out."
I thought about this for a while. Even as a child, I knew quite a bit about the unrest in the country, the arguments between Republicans and Democrats, blacks and whites, doves and hawks, and I knew that there were people dying - on our own streets as well as in the rice fields of foreign nations. And I also knew that our country - despite these tensions, or maybe even because of them - was the best country, one in which are differences can be voiced freely and openly; one in which we could even learn from those differences and become even stronger.
"Wouldn't it be better if it said "America - Love It or Work To Make It Better"?" I asked my dad, who smiled. (He had taught me well).
Recently, Bruce Springsteen has been taking some criticism for one of the newer entries in his concert set list, a moving, mournful song entitled "American Skin (41 Shots)". The song recounts the slaying of black West African immigrant Amadou Diallo, who was fired upon 41 times by four white policemen in February 1999. "American Skin" - an intense look at prejudice and violence - made its tour debut in Atlanta and has become a staple during the Boss's 10-night stand at Madison Square Garden. The song - which is much in the spirit of a body of Springsteen works, especially on the "Nebraska" and "The Ghost of Tom Joad" albums - has been condemned by conservatives in general and the New York City Patrolmen's Benevolent Association in particular. "I consider it an outrage that he would be trying to fatten his wallet by reopening the wounds of this tragic case at a time when police officers and community members are in a healing period," PBA President Patrick J. Lynch said in a letter to the union's membership.
