I watched the Indianapolis 500 this morning, including the 2 hour pre-race broadcast and noticed something about my.....

[FadedMullet]

.......reaction to all of the usual, expected elements to the show. There was a young lady singing all three verses of "America the Beautiful", a military squad doing a close-order drill and firing a synchronized salute, jet fighters flying over in formation, a aerial fireworks display that created an image of the American flag in colored smoke over the infield, another singer, a baritone , singing the star-spangled banner, and a few more things redolent of patriotism in the heartland. I usually like this kind of stuff, choosing not to see it as American "jingoism", but instead as pride in our country expressed in a somewhat corny way.

But today, given the current state of affairs in the world and how it has affected people in other countries and their attitudes toward us, I found myself seeing things through their eyes. America the bully that uses it's strength to push the world around and get our way. And then we celebrate that military strength in a way, at a "sporting event" that would make Pete Hegseth proud.

Trump has poisoned my attitude about my own country..

[calimary]

1. I fear he's done that to LOTS of people's attitudes about our country.

I hope Dems do well in November. We need it. And the Donald needs to face the fact that his time is almost up.

[CaptainTruth]

2. I know how you feel. I now cringe at the sight of an American flag.

I'm not sure if I'll ever fly one again, at least not right side up.

I might put mine out after the midterms if we totally kick Republicans' asses, I'll have to see.

[Joinfortmill]

3. I hear you. It sucks to be us right now.

Hopefully, we will survive Donald and his Merchants of Menace, and become a better version of the U. S.A. We are indeed on the precipice. To me, it is a shocking state of events.

He has brought this country very low. Not as low as Hitler brought Germany, but he's working toward it.

[ColoringFool]

4. "Merchants of Menace"---A Rare Brilliant Multi-Layered Pun. 👏👏👏

[Joinfortmill]

5. ☺️

[Goonch]

6. . ;-{) OLD MAN SHOUTING AT THE SKY

[SergeStorms]

7. He won't be happy.....

until there's a National Anthem that praises and exalts HIM. He sees himself as the be-all and end-all of the United States of America. That's how delusional and egocentric he is. Reality never encroaches into his personal psychosis. Everything is about him!

[Emile]

8. Trump policing the world, and sucking up to dictators destroyed our good name.

[Tesha]

9. When people tell me that I hate America

this is exactly what I want to say to them.

Thank you.

[FadedMullet]

10. Good point. Trump has convinced half of the country that the left "hates America".

[wnylib]

11. I remember celebrating our 200th birthday in 1976.

It was a joyous day.

All I want to do for our 250th this year is mourn what has been lost.

But I can't give up believing that we have not lost completely, bleak as it looks now.

Perhaps this year on the 4th, I can celebrate what we were and what we will be when the current oligarch driven authoritarianism is gone. But I cannot celebrate what we are now.