I get really frustrated about the assumption that because I'm politically a lefty (a goddamn *liberal*), that I hate America and everything about it. This is my country too. I was born here, I was raised here, I took my civics classes here, I vote every election, and I pay my taxes when I have income. Sure, I haven't been able to contribute as much as I'd like, due to a conspiracy between genetics and fate, but that doesn't make me any less an American.

This is my country, too. Period.

(It's the state, not the feds, but when I interview for state jobs, I have my spiel for why I want to work for the state: "I was born in California and I've lived in this state all my life. My education, from kindergarten to my master's degree, have all been in California public schools. This state has given me a lot, and I'd like to give some of it back by working for the state.")