Jay, 38, Washington, DC - Non-Profit Coordinator for the Washington Peace Center

Are you proud to be an American?

Hell yeah, well I don’t know, I used to… I’m proud to be a human being. If America really represented the ideals that are upheld supposedly in this constitution then of course I’d be proud. One of the best things Bill Clinton ever said was in his second inaugural address when he said America’s not a place its an idea. Its an ideal and it’s a beautiful ideal. Freedom and justice and liberty is something that has inspired the world and will always inspire us. But I’m not really proud to be an American right now. Obviously it’s a shame to be an American right now because we are using this beautiful democracy and all our privilege and all our power and we’re using it to throw our weight around in the world and it’s actually criminal what we are doing. We could do so much better by ourselves and by the planet, we could be setting an example for a sustainable energy future. Imagine if we put 600 billion dollars a year into sustainable energy, renewable fuel right? Solar and wind instead of bullets and bombs and tanks and aircraft carriers. I mean, its madness, we should be so much more secure, we’re acting like an insecure bully. We’re the biggest, strongest economy and country in the world and we should be proud of that and we should not be afraid, cowering. We don’t have anything to be afraid of except ourselves and letting our own government trample our rights.

What are your hopes for the future?

To write and do theater and make music and I hope to get married, have a family and raise them in a positive and sustainable way. And raise them free and not afraid of their government. Not afraid their government’s gonna invade another country on some pretense. And make them not afraid to, for instance, serve in the military. Right now I could not encourage anybody to serve in the military, but that’s tragic. My grandfather served in the military. My grandfather died in world war II. We need to reclaim the integrity of our country.

Annie, 25, Denver, CO - Student

What do you think foreign countries think of America and do you care?

Yeah I definitely care. I think we have enough economic power that we should be setting a better example than we do and we kind of… like things like the Kyoto treaty or we have these agreements with countries that we’re gonna do things better and we’re gonna behave properly and we just kind of tend to ignore all those things. Like we’re one of the only countries that didn’t sign the Kyoto treaties. We don’t follow any of the UN resolutions. How can we expect anybody else to behave if we’re not going to?

What are your hopes for America’s future?

I hope that things like health care and housing and food will be more available to everyone who needs them, you know… we definitely have enough that everyone should have a house and should have food and should have health care and that’s just not how it is. So that’s what I’d hope for the country.

Sandy, 40’s, Vernon, TX - Homemaker

What do you think the biggest issue facing America is today?

I think the economics and I also think religious peoples rights you know, prejudice. And a lot of people are real prejudice over colored people and all. And I think that everybody should be treated equal. Depending on what kind of… judged as their person not what religious person they are or anything like that. I think they should be judged as an individual. And how they treat others and their view of life.

Do you think the results of this election will change America?

It depends on who gets in there and you know if they have good values that possibly they could do something to help. But unfortunately I have a bad feeling its going to get worse before it gets better. But maybe I’m wrong on that I hope. Its just an intuition that I have you know.. It’s… I don’t know I could be wrong. I just feel like we all need to start using our resources wisely you know not being so wasteful and learning how to grow our own gardens like our ancestors did and make our own soaps and things like they did that they knew how to do that we haven’t got a clue. If they told me to go in and make soap so I could take a bath I’d be like, where do I start?

Darryl, 43, Vernon, TX - Crude Oil Truck Driver

What was your favorite thing about growing up in Vernon?

Huntin’ bullfrogs on my Shetland pony carrying my BB gun. His name was Shorty.

Are you proud to be an American?

Well sure, who wouldn’t be? 

Do you think this election could change what’s going on in America right now?

No. Only thing that can change what’s going on in this world now is Jesus Christ. The way I look at it. 

Colleen, 33, Dallas, TX - Photographer

What are your personal hopes for the future?

My personal hopes for the future are that I’m able to pay off my [graduate school] student loans in a timely fashion because they are fucking killing me.

What are your hopes for America’s future?

And my hopes for America, I suppose that people will maybe learn how to see things from someone else’s perspective. I think that we’ve become a country of people who are entirely too egocentric and even in their day-to-day lives don’t take into consideration other peoples feelings when they make decisions. And I think if they started small by doing that in their day-to-day lives maybe in the bigger picture they could take other people into consideration before we make the big decisions…and obviously that’s true for politicians on the grand scheme. I see it everyday. I can’t believe how selfish people have gotten. Really, really, selfish. And how unaccustomed to sacrifice people are. It’s the little sacrifices that really add up. And if you can’t sacrifice for your partner or your best friend or someone you love, or a job that you care about, if you can’t make little sacrifices there and little compromises then how can the entire country do the same thing and change the worlds’ perspective of us and get out of a war that we don’t need to be in.

Jesse, 63, Maben, Mississippi - Farmer

Where did you grow up?

Here in Maben. I like to farm. That’s what I did [growing up]. Me and my dad and sisters, mom and all, we farmed. I got 4 sisters now. Two in St. Louis, two down here. And I’m the only boy.

Do you think this election will change the state of America?

Yeah, we gonna have a change. Barack Obama get in there, there’s gonna be a change. I ain’t doubting nobody. I ain’t doubting the black man. I ain’t doubting the white man. I ain’t doubting America. I ain’t doubting nobody. But I believe, I believe in my heart there’s gonna be a change. The bible says, the good book says, a change will come.

Mamie, Nashville, TN - Retired Nurse/works at Ryman auditorium

Where did you grow up?

In Hickman County in Tennessee. [It’s about] 70 miles [from Nashville]. I really was in no hurry to grow up, I was happy as a child. I lived on a farm. I played basketball. I had a big family. We played in the water all the time when it was warm enough. Just the average things…

Do you feel like this year’s election is different than any of the other ones?

I think it’s one of the worst we’ve ever had in my lifetime. I don’t think we’ve got anyone qualified to be president. That’s exactly what I think. And I hate to say it but it’s the truth.