Can't-Help-It Patriot

Last Saturday, we went to the Marine Ball sponsored by the Marines here at the U.S. Embassy.  I love a chance to honor the US Marines who serve at our Embassies and Consulates around the world.  24/7 young men and women stand duty in our Embassies protecting the facilities and the people who work there.  It's a strange marriage -- between the diplomats and the warriors -- but it's one I'm profoundly thankful for every time I go into the Embassy.

The Ball, which is to celebrate the creation of the Marines on November 10, 1775, is the highlight of the Embassy social calendar, and I love getting to wear a ball gown, glide elegantly among diplomats in tuxedos, and enjoy the kind of evening I'd have to be rich and famous to be able to experience in the U.S.

But you know what I like best?  The patriotic stuff.  I find I am an absolute sucker for patriotism.  Every year, there's a message from the Commandant of the Marine Corps to Marines serving around the world.  This year, the message (a video presentation) was a retrospective of the conflicts and attacks in which Marines have died since the first bombings in Lebanon in the 1980s.  And as part of the ceremony this year, there was an empty table, covered in black, and set for one -- to symbolize all the Marines who were no longer with us because they had paid the ultimate price.  I'll admit:  I cried.  For I know one of those Marines, he died in Iraq about three years ago.

But then, the Marines brought in the Stars and Stripes, and everyone in the room rose to honor the flag, and the Americans among us sang the national anthem.

I love the flag; I love the national anthem.  Some days, I see more Chinese flags or German flags (if I happen to drive past their Embassies) than I do U.S. flags; and every day I see more Costa Rican flags.  So whenever I do catch sight of the Stars & Stripes, I'm aware of it and it makes me happy in a way it never would in the States.  And it reminds me that I'm an American, and, frankly, I like that.

So, to all you Marines out there -- Happy Birthday to your Corps!  And thank you very much for all you do to make it possible for me to keep being an American, no matter where I live.