Finding patriotism. My story.

Welcome to "Life on the Line" where I look forward to sharing the lives and stories of new Americans who have come to this great country. I am an American by birth. I have been one my entire life. So before I explore the lives of new Americans, perhaps I should share my own. This is my American story.

I first became a patriotic American one year and two weeks ago today. Really.

Now, I said the pledge of allegiance in my classes as a student and I even sang the national anthem at my share of football games. I supported voting and followed politics. But I wasn't patriotic. I couldn't be.

Last summer I had the opportunity to step beyond the borders of this country to study and live in a small town, north of Madrid, Spain. During my stay, we were faced with language issues, travel confusions, great food and a few Bush protesters. We avoided the local book store with choice words for Bush painted on the door. And we did our best to speak English as little as possible, just to blend in.

"I don't want anything to do with you Americans and your guns and wars," a slightly intoxicated Australian tourist screamed at my roommate and I for no other reason than we looked American. We practically ran back that night, and I cursed the politics of my country all the way home.

Granted, most of our encounters were not so colorful, but it did open my eyes. It offered a view beyond the one I had been drowning in. On the last night of our trip, I sat down to dinner with my host family. They had tiptoed around the subject, and we had responded vaguely, but it was the last night and they wanted to talk politics. And talk we did, for hours in a shaky combination of Spanish and English. Discussing American politics is difficult in English, trying to explain electoral votes in Spanish was a challenge. But they wanted to know, they were so interested in various aspects and details of our system. They wanted to know our views on the current administration and they had no hesitancy in sharing theirs. They did not have hostility towards Americans and they did not tell us we were wrong about the war, though they thought so. They wanted to talk about it, understand it and debate it in ways that I had never experienced with Americans. And I thought, sitting around a table of five Spaniards, two Americans and enough paella to feed the free world, how patriotic.

Patriotism isn't a party convention or the national anthem. It is the right, freedom and decision to discuss, debate and talk about our government and those in power. I learned that night what patriotism felt like. My party biases fell aside and I was proud to be an American as I explained that America is not a War in Iraq or even the current administration. America is so much more. I can only hope I was able to express that.

Since then I have found a great passion for the unique people that walk the lines of this country. Standing on the outside looking in, gives remarkable insight. And I hope to explore all of these ideas and viewpoints and share them here.

With an outside view and a group of passionately opinionated Spaniards, I became a true patriotic American. And I haven't stopped talking since.