Our country’s not perfect, but it’s ours

Fresh Meadows: Voicer Joseph N. Manago’s depiction of the U.S.A. as led by a criminal government and his refusal to celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary raises the question of why he’s residing in Briarwood. Unlike his ancestors who crossed an ocean to find a life unavailable in their native land (photo), Manago can return from whence they came. It seems hypocritical to stay and benefit from a place that has, according to him, offered only racism, bigotry and genocide.

As a Catholic who doesn’t agree with President Trump’s remarks about the pope, I refuse to let Trump live inside my head and make my life miserable. Rather, I’ll be proud of my country even with its imperfections, which we should always strive to improve, but not with hatred and disdain. Catholics have been and are a fundamental part of the American government, including two Catholic presidents. If one person’s opinion or comment upsets your apple cart, then you’re giving them too much weight and living in a fantasy world.

I remember stories of my grandparents and granduncles and aunts terrified of the Black and Tans during the 1920s and how horribly the British treated Irish Catholics, but that didn’t stop them from living their lives, nor did they spew hatred. Even after Ireland gained independence, they voluntarily came here. If the U.S. was so horrendous, as Manago asserts, this wouldn’t have been possible.

Whitestone: A photo of a Black woman surrounded by members of the white supremacist group Patriot Front on a Washington, D.C. subway train has gone........

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