Floden i Uppsala/The River in Uppsala

Floden i Uppsala/The River in Uppsala, originally uploaded by skitbraviking.

Dear Mr. President George W. Bush:

Please help me understand how your policies have nearly gotten in the way of my family relations, the very family relations you protect with such great fury. This summer, Mr. President, I went home to my other homeland, Sweden, a country which I hold as dear as your beloved Texas that you enjoy vacationing at so very much. While there I had the opportunity to meet a cousin who'd I'd never been able to spend much time with, because unlike your flying privledges, I can't skip over to Sweden if and when I want to. Nevertheless, I was very happy to visit and get good and drunk with my cousin. You ought to try it some time! Er, wait. I'm sorry, that was inappropriate of me. In any case, my cousin and his friends inquired about you, Mr. President, but not you personally, more your policies and the wars and the now-imploding Middle East which you've allowed to collapse while supporting Israel as if it were the 51st State (sorry, Puerto Rico!) These bright young men and women were quite circumspect when inquiring about my opinions surrounding all of this. Here, Mr. President, I had to sever myself from any allegiance to you. Now I don't adhere well to any single party because I believe that thinking for oneself should come before cattle-like following of a party; therefore, I am bound to agree with you, somewhere, somehow. Yet I can't be there any more. The love of my family means more to me than that and any free-thinking that may have allowed me to wander into the more dogmatic waters you frequent, are now more hesitant. So what I need to know is how do I begin to explain it to my counsins, so I can be a proud American again. Right now, that's not possible. I may have Sweden in my heart, but I am an American, and I'd like to feel proud annoucing that whereever I may do in the world.

Respectfully:

Pete Eriksson