In the summer of 2002 I was taking a walk through Belfast, where I was living at the time, when two little girls stopped me along a wall separating Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods. They asked me which colors I loved better: red white and blue, or green white and orange.
I said I loved red white and blue because those were the colors of the American flag. My own eyes must’ve widened at how easily, truthfully, and unexpectedly the words spilled out of my mouth. Surprised by my accent and answer, the girls ran away. I still wish I’d offered them a better answer. If I could relive the moment, I’d tell them that every person has the right to love her flag, no matter what complications come with that love.
That’s what the Occupy Movement challenges me to do: engage in a complicated love.
http://colabradio.mit.edu/how-occupy-rips-apart-my-all-american-heart/