More and more these days I find myself saying "Oh, for god's sake" at some inanity. Yes, I'm a grouchy old lady and some of what annoys me, on reflection, probably shouldn't. But this particular article, its headline shouting FREEDOM to decry public schools' ban on whole fat milk (inspired by the prevalence of childhood obesity,) had me shaking my head. Unsurprisingly the article is from a trade journal aimed at dairy farmers. (We got on their mailing list years ago when we had a milk cow and filled out a USDA survey attesting to same.)
But the above headline--what with Veteran's Day and all--got me thinking. What are the American freedoms, the freedoms those vets served and fought and died for? What about the freedom of those children to choose Coca-Cola instead of milk? I'd hazard a guess that some of the same dairy farmers behind this campaign wouldn't see that as a freedom.
I'd also hazard a guess that many of them wouldn't see freedom from hunger as an American freedom, worthy of support with their tax dollars.
Throwing about a term like "American freedom" in service of an industry is worrying and all too common. In these uneasy days when idiots storm the capitol to overturn a free election and those same idiots claim the name of patriots, when the American flag and the flag of the traitorous Confederacy can be seen in unironic juxtaposition on too many pickup trucks, when too many of our flag-waving politicians seem to have joined a cult, working for the approval of their Dear Leader rather than the good of the country, when far too many of our citizens reject science in favor of Fox News and Google, I find it challenging to be proud to be a US citizen.
And the more headlines like this I see, the more challenging it is. I love this troubled country and still have hope that her better angels will prevail. Without waving flags.
