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Patriotism, nationalism, and freedom

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Keep driveway free.
Freedom for all driveways! (by christophheinrich)

To me, patriotism while being a transgender person is something like religion is for other LGBT people. Those aren't exactly the most compatible things. Obviously, I have a difficult time with it. If you would ask the people that know me to describe me, words like "patriotic" probably wouldn't make the list. "Good student", "talented", "smart", "friendly"... Heck, maybe even "fun"? But "patriotic"? No, not me... They'd probably say that I'm simply too queer forward-thinking to be into such "conservative and traditionalist" things like patriotism. Well, it's just who I am!

But the real reasons are very different, in my opinion. Forward-thinking LGBT people are just the same kind of citizens as anyone else. LGBT people are often stereotyped and looked at as a monolith, because of the "us and them" mentality in society, but in reality, we are just as diverse as any other group of people. And because of those certain stereotype that is applied to us, LGBT equality is often seen as being somehow "dangerous" to the conservative and traditionalist society. However, just because you're of a certain sexuality, race, or religion, doesn't mean that you are "less of a citizen", "less patriotic", or anything like that. I don't think that laws like Don't Ask Don't Tell would be much of an issue if there weren't any gay people that didn't want to serve their country.

One of the most important things in the history of a country are the hard-won freedom and independence. We are always taught to appreciate it and value the people who had fought and died for what we have today. And I absolutely understand why all those things are important - all those things are valuable to me. However, we shouldn't forget that some of us are still fighting for our individual freedoms and rights - the freedom to love and marry who we want, the freedom to live as who we truly are and be treated with equally, the freedom to make choices about our bodies. All these fights are just another step to freedom. They're no less important. I mean, don't we all deserve freedom? Or maybe my citizenship is "second-class", because I'm transgender?

The fact is, it's not pleasant to be "erased" from history, as if all those victories were fought only for one group of people. They weren't just fought for white, cisgender, straight people - they were fought and won for everyone, so that everyone could have a better life. And yes, it includes the people who came here to look for a better life, to have a new home, to look for opportunities. I just have a hard time imagining how the very people, that say they value freedom so much, want to prevent others from getting their own freedoms and rights. So, of course, it's hard to be a patriot, when you feel like a second-class citizen in the only country that you have ever called home. Yes, it's hard to sing an anthem about freedom and unity, when you know that the unity and freedom suddenly doesn't include you, or when people outright want you to get out of your country, even though everybody is all for stopping the massive emigration rates. It's hard to be all sunshine and rainbows and imagine a happy future, when the vast majority of people wouldn't even want you as a neighbor.

ERROR 404 human rights not found (hey, that's me! S)
And my country is pretty damn special - we have two independence days! One is for the declaration of independence, and one is for the restoration of independence. I mean, seriously - we faced both Nazi and Soviet regimes, so you'd think people would know a thing or two. And, in fact, for a lot of people, independence day is very meaningful. But, ironically, neo-nationalism is a huge problem. On both of the celebrations, there are large "patriotic" marches, that are always full of neo-nationalist skinheads, and there's always a lot of, umm, interesting symbolism - from stylized swastikas, to nationalist slogans. Sadly, this kind of hateful, radical ideology, is what people consider real patriotism here. Open-mindedness, progressive thinking and tolerance are shunned - the government refused to issue permits for "counter-marches", intended to promote diversity and tolerance. Last winter in my city we marched without a permit. Well, that was sure fun!

It's still strange to me, why this close-minded, hateful thinking is confused with patriotism - nationalism is indistinguishable from aggressive ideas which have nothing to do with love for your country. We should be going forward - not making the same mistakes and going for the same hateful ideas! We live in a huge, diverse world. There's enough space for everyone, but not enough space for everyone to have a nationalist country. Moreover, hating immigrants or LGBT people has nothing to do with patriotism or loving your country. Patriotism, by definition, is "love and devotion" for your own country and culture. However, loving your own culture doesn't prevent you from valuing other cultures as well - no amount and hate can turn into love, especially when you are hating the very people that call your country home. Including others and letting people finally be equal citizens by granting them their basic human rights is not "letting your country collapse". You are simply making the next logical step - giving others the rights that you have been always enjoying. If it's too much, or too scary for you... I must question your patriotism, because one can't love their country without loving the people that live there.
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