[Gambit]

You are, as I've said before, entitled to your opinion. I would, however, like to note something.

The United States is a representative democracy. A republic. (In a true democracy, everyone would vote on every issue.) But we DO get to vote on our leaders, choosing the one we think is the best one for the job. So, pretty much, the majority rules, but if a leader just follows the polls, he's not really a leader, is he/she?

You know what? I didn't much like eight years of Clinton. He said and did a lot of things that I certainly would be ashamed of, and I didn't want the head of my country doing. But NONE of what he did ever made me say "I'm ashamed to be an American." The United States is MUCH more than the presidency, or the legislature, or the Supreme Court, or the people who hold those positions. It's more than the Constitution or the Bill of Rights or the New York Times.

If you don't like something about America, you're a citizen and have the right - perhaps the duty - to speak your mind and work to change it. That's one of the things that makes it a great country. Please understand that there's plenty of things I don't like about it too.

You need to realize that when you say you're ashamed to be an American, you're saying you're ashamed of all those orientations and ethnicities and cultures, the great melting pot, that you're griping about being stomped upon and have the same right to vote as everyone else.
If you're ashamed to be an American, then you have the right - and my invitation - to stop being one.