to watch the hometown parade.
Forget to remove your hat when the flag is carried by
and they will glare at you.
It is easy to see that with just a little more beer
they will start shoving you
to protect their country,
presumably from hats.
Love it or leave it.
Two choices.
But really, there’s a third choice
and most of the parade watchers have already made it.
They will love it and destroy it
with their Hondas and their Volkswagens
their walls full of Sony toys and Nintendo toys,
sapping the strength
of the country they profess to cherish,
selling the nation
a little bit at a time
to people abroad
who don’t care about apple pie
or hot dogs and baseball
or whether you take your hat off or not.
These other people will let you wear your hat
whenever and wherever you want.
In fact, they’ll sell you one.
Whatever makes you happy.