Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

The Secular Spectrum

Home
Nonreligious
On Being a Weird American on 9/11

On Being a Weird American on 9/11

Last updated on: September 11, 2016 at 6:26 pm by Gleb Tsipursky

On Being a Weird American on 9/11 2016-09-11T18:26:48-05:00 Gleb Tsipursky

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Caption: Person saluting the American flag (image credit)

______________________________________________________

On this anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks, I want to share why I think of myself as a weird American. No, this doesn’t have to do with my secular identity. It has to do with patriotism.

I’m very proud to be a citizen of the United States. America is a beacon of hope for democracy and freedom for millions of people across the globe. Our universities consistently produce ground-breaking research; our companies drive innovation for the global economy; our military helps keep peace in many global conflicts.

Yet I’ve always been uncomfortable thinking of myself as “American” when I see politicians make speeches with the message “America, Right or Wrong,” supporting whatever the government happens to do as the correct thing. I much prefer the great American statesman Carl Shurz’s take, “My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.”

Caption: an emblem of the “America, right or wrong” mentality (image credit)

My feeling crystallized on the second anniversary of 9/11 in 2003. We had recently invaded Iraq based on the Bush administration claiming Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and also tying Saddam Hussein’s administration to the 9/11 attacks. Despite a thorough search, the CIA’s final report found no weapons of mass destruction, and the claims were later found to be false.

The lack of such weapons of mass destruction was already pretty clear by 9/11/2003, and even Bush admitted no direct ties between Hussein and 9/11. Yet this didn’t prevent him from, in his speech on 9/11/2003, making an association between 9/11 and the war in Iraq, when he stated “we are fighting that enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan today so that we do not meet him again on our own streets, in our own cities.”

I remember listening to that speech, and being really turned off by his using the label “we” – Americans – as if it included me. I was not fighting the enemy, and wanted no part of the label of “we” in a war I opposed. I remember taking a walk around my neighborhood after the speech, and seeing all the flags out on the streets, and feeling put off by such patriotic displays when I thought the country is going in a wrong direction. I recall remembering how the label of “American” felt confining, forcing me to identify with aspects of the United States that I am not happy about.

So I decided to spend some time thinking up a way to address this feeling of discomfort. I came up with an approach that draws on the strategy of reframing, a research-based approach involving changing our framework of thinking.

Specifically, I tried putting the term “weird” before “American.” The term “weird” had a wonderful impact. It fit my desire to identify overall with the label “American,” but allowed me to separate myself from any aspects of the label I don’t support. This represents a specific instance of the broader research-informed strategy of distancing oneself from an uncomfortable situation to think calmly about it and make good decisions about how to proceed forward.

Once I started thinking about myself as a “weird American,” I was freed myself from the anxiety of not fully identifying with that label. I was able to think through calmly which aspects of being American I identified with and which I did not, and set the latter aside from my identity.

Based on that experience, I started putting “weird” in front of other labels that did not feel fully comfortable to me. For example, while I love my mother greatly, she and I fight occasionally, and it made me feel really bad in the past when we had conflicts. Now, I just think of myself as a weird son when we fight, which makes me much calmer and less stressed.

The term “weird” also enabled me to change my behaviors in useful ways. For example, I am a kind and gentle person intuitively, and strive to be nice to everyone. However, being this way has enabled others to exploit my kindness and harm me in the past. Thinking of myself as a “weird nice guy” permits me to be less-than-nice when the occasion calls for it, however unnatural I may find that. Labeling myself as a weird pedestrian has permitted me to stop and smell flowers by the sidewalk despite getting strange looks from others.

Overall, using the term “weird” before any identity category helped me gain greater agency, the quality of living life intentionally to achieve my goals, by freeing me from restrictions associated with socially-imposed identity labels. It allowed me to pick and choose what aspects of these labels best serve my own needs, and enable me to feel comfortable in my own skin. I hope some of you may resonate with being a “weird” American on 9/11 and use this strategy of identity management for your own benefit.

____________________________________________________________________

Please DONATE if you found this article helpful. Intentional Insights is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, and we are able to create our content only thanks to the generous support of readers like you (your donations are tax-deductible). We also invite you to volunteer and buy our merchandise. To avoid missing out on content that help you reach your goals, subscribe to the Intentional Insights monthly newsletter and RSS feed. Thank you!

Previous Post

September 8, 2016

Our Human Legacy – The Golden Record on the Voyager Space Probes

Next Post

September 13, 2016 Want To Be Young and Healthy Forever?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Ableism Activism Addiction and Recovery Agnosticism Anti-intellectualism Arts Atheism Beauty Catholicism Charles Darwin Children China Christianity Church/State separation churchgoing communication compassionate humanism Creationism critical thinking Culture death disaster response doubt education Egypt Entertainment Environment ethics evolution Existence of God Exploration fear Foundation Beyond Belief Free speech God Health History Human rights humanism identity India Interfaith Islam labels Language LGBT Love Meaning Media Medicine Middle East misconceptions mixed belief marriage Moral argument Morality Myths Near-Death Experience Nonreligious parenting Parody Persecution complex Philosophy Poetry Politics prayer Psychology Rationality Religion religious atheists Religious privilege Republican Party Satire Schools science secular parenting Spirituality The Unpigeonholeables Uncategorized United Kingdom Wonder

Select a Month March 2021 August 2020 March 2020 January 2020 September 2019 July 2019 June 2019 April 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 June 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was known as "the disciple whom Jesus loved"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

James Peter Thomas John