making an admission...
Yesterday at the obedience trial, they opened with the Star Spangled Banner, as they always do. I sometimes am walking Canon or away from the ring, but I was there today. I didn't put my hand over my heart (as usual), but stood in respect (as usual).
What was unusual is that my eyes filled with tears (a couple). It seems like this is a different country than the one I grew up in. The President is not presidential. The office doesn't have respect like it used to. I admit, I am one who has lost respect. We are not welcoming "the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Race is still an issue. Crime looms over many of us. The environment is changing. So many people have lost homes to fire and water. Animals are tortured.
Is it that I now view the world with older eyes, more awareness of the news, more compassion, less innocence, or has the world changed?
I think it has. I have changed as well. I still don't call myself patriotic, but I feel for my country (and the world) when that flag waves.
