Shame on you, Sarah Palin.

I loathe Sarah Palin, but I hate her message even more.

My paternal grandparents emigrated to this country from Russia through Ellis Island. One of the first things they saw when they came to the United States was Libertas, standing in glory on the Atlantic Coast, a gigantic symbol of freedom from oppression, vindicavit in libertatem, and enlightenment.

My maternal grandparents emigrated to this country from the Philippines through Hawaii and settled in Manhattan. Ted’s paternal grandfather came to this country from Spain, his grandmother from Guatemala. They, too, came through Ellis Island. Ted’s maternal forefathers came from Ireland and Scotland, and spread through the South, intermarrying with the Native Americans. All of them came here because of what this country stands for, and because they wanted to build better lives for themselves and for their children.

And here’s Lilith. A RussianFilipinoSpanishIrishScottishGuatemalanNativeAmerican. We live in California, Lilith, her father, and I.

My family did not inhabit small towns in the US. My family lived in Manhattan and Brooklyn, Ted’s in Los Angeles. We’re middle class, with Catholic, Jewish, and Baptist roots. Ted’s father was an entrepreneur, and owned a bar and a taxi company. My parents were teachers. Both of our fathers served in the military, my father during World War II, and Ted’s dad in Korea. All of our parents worked hard, busting their asses, and did their best to instill in us the altruistic virtues of diligence, thrift, respect, justice, and kindness. We’re going to do our best to pass this on to our daughter.

We run a small business, contribute to the flow of the US economy, and pay our taxes.

In Sarah Palin’s world, we’re un-American. Unpatriotic.

By proxy, in John McCain’s world, we’re un-American. Unpatriotic.

Us, and everyone like us.

I’m sick of hearing that strong, positive values are the exclusive province of small towns in red states. I’m sick of my value system, my history, my ethnicity, and my ethics being labeled as un-American. I’m disgusted by the line that the Republican party is drawing in the sand. I’m sick of hearing that I’m not a “real” American, and that everything I am and everything I stand for is contrary to “real” American values. I’m sick of seeing the GOP take a big fucking magic marker to the US map, further dividing us all, making slashmarks through “anti-American” blue states.

You know who’s un-American? Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann, Nancy Pfotenhauer, Robin Hayes, and all of the other divisive hatemongers, with their warped ideas of patriotism. Being American doesn’t equal being a white Protestant conservative religious nut, and it certainly doesn’t involve a six-pack prerequisite, the desecration of the Constitution, or the villainizing of big cities, blue states, homosexuals, brown and black Americans, or Muslims.

Fuck you, Sarah Palin. You’re unpatriotic and un-American. You’re a blight on this country and a disgrace to everything it represents. Fuck you, John McCain, for selling yourself out, and your country, too, in the process. Shame on you both.