I personally don’t wear any American (USA) iconography anymore because I don’t feel like it’s acceptable or consistent to my morality, especially since my mother is half Native American. And no, I don’t own any USSR iconography, in case you point out that I have 3 posts on chapo. I find nationalism and even patriotism very problematic. It always disturbs me when even the most genuine politicians say things like “I want what’s best for America” because that can mean very different things to very different people. Like who or what is America? White people? Or is America certain special interests? And is “what’s best” for America toppling democratic governments, or starting wars based on false pretenses?

America has a dark history, and I think that should be emphasized much stronger in our education system. The rampant American exceptionalism seems to border on delusion. How is America the best, most moral country on earth? The founding fathers themselves were slave owners, and slavery continued until AFTER it was formally abolished in the name as sharecropping. Not to mention, a disproportionate amount of blacks are incarcerated and used as slave labor in prison, which is legal under the 13th amendment, so in a sense, enslavement due to racial discrimination hasn’t even ended yet. The genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Native population, in which every single treaty made with the indigenous people was broken. The European colonization of the Americas-not completely attributable to the United States/British Colonies- was the most deadly event in human history. Our own president Andrew Jackson endorsed an ethnic cleansing of the Cherokee people with the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which would result in the tragedy known as the Trail of Tears. Their perils didn’t end there. An attempt to strip away tribal sovereignty and assimilate the native Americans into “white society” (kill the Indian, save the man), was attempted whit the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887. This resulted in the stripping of children from reservations and sending them to boarding schools where they endured vicious abuse, as well as the attempted decimation of their own culture. This Act would remain until FDR’s “Indian new deal,” but elements of it were nearly reinstated during Dwight D. Eisenhower’s administration.

The United States also has a history of imperialism abroad, such as the Spanish-American war, in which the United States claimed Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam. The United States, under president William McKinley, decided to hold on the the Philippines despite promises of liberation from the Spanish rule. Reasons for this decision include not wanting the Philippines to fall under German or European control again in general, and shit as ridiculous as William McKinley “crying out to god” and god telling him that he must bring civilization to the topical orient. In the Philippines , the United States would commit some of its worse atrocities, including concentration camps. The “liberation of Cuba” also didn’t really occur. The United States forced Cuba to have an amendment which permitted the United States to invade the country and “restore stability,” as well as maintain bases on the island, which is why we have Guantanamo Bay. The imperialistic ventures into South America continued under president Theodore Roosevelt, a known warmonger who orchestrated the attack on the Philippines. His Roosevelt corollary added to the Monroe doctrine (originally intended to make official policy of the United States the prevention of any new European colonization and exploitation of the new world) the ability of the United States to economically and militarily dominate the newer republics in the south. Notable ventures of Teddy Roosevelt include the manufacturing of a Panamanian revolution to secure territory for the Panama Canal - by ripping apart of Colombia away.

I could go on and on, but you get the point. I only made it to 1904 in U.S history, and things arguably get worse in some areas.