Love it or leave it?

The news from Uvalde is too painful to bear. Instead, I want to talk about termites.

We have a termite problem at our house because it has a wood frame and exposed beams. This is one of many genius decisions the builders of our house made 50 years ago. Normally, homeowners only deal with termites when they sell a house, because it’s required by state law. So, they throw a tent on it and pump it full of Vikane because they’ve already packed things up to leave and don’t have to deal with cleanup. Since we still live here, we have to look at different options for dealing with the problem. It’s annoying, expensive, and inconvenient. It’s also important to deal with it now to avoid more serious problems later on.

That’s how I feel about living in the United States.

I learned as a teenager that America is not The Greatest Nation on Earth™. We have serious problems based on fundamental flaws in our foundation. People on both sides of the political spectrum can quickly point out our country’s many imperfections. But when people call these out, we hear a common refrain, “If you hate America so much, why don’t you leave?” It’s a sentiment I saw on bumper stickers in the 1960s, “America: Love it or leave it.”

But America is my home. It’s where I grew up. It’s where I built my career. It’s where I formed a family. It’s my culture, heritage…