We’re going into an election year and we’re about to be inundated by all manner of claims that the candidates are “patriots”, that they love their country and democracy, and that their opponents are socialists, communists, fascists, “un-American”, criminals, or just plain lazy bums collecting welfare checks.
Have you ever noticed the attire in D.C.? Just about every politician wears a blue suit (who does that in regular society?), white shirt and red tie (so that they look like the American flag) and finish off the look with the ubiquitous flag pin on their lapel.
That’s patriotism, in their minds, appearing to be serious about America, the Constitution, the rule of law, and the idea of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” for all.
But then, when they “go to work” with their colleagues in the Capitol, they spend 99 percent of their time being uncooperative with others, throwing mud at their fellow elected officials, undermining the Constitution and the laws of the land, and seeking to enrich themselves and their campaign sugar daddies at the expense of their fellow American citizens.
And lying a lot about everything.
I don’t think of these folks as patriots in any sense of the word. Instead of loving their country, they love the acquisition, use, and retention of power… the power to tell their fellow Americans when to jump and how high, and to make a lot of money while ostensibly solving society’s biggest problems.
To me, a patriot is a good citizen, someone who believes in democracy, obeys the law, pays his taxes, votes, contributes to the economy, and serves his country when needed. And has moral integrity.
(By the way, only about 20 percent of our Congressmen and Senators served in the military. Many of these flag pin-wearing “patriots”, like ex-Prez Donald Trump, found ways to dodge that obligation in time of war.)
A good citizen, a patriotic one, understands what makes America tick (the “melting pot” concept) and is supportive of all citizens who strive to achieve the American Dream regardless of their color, ethnicity, sexual preference, religion, or politics.
It “takes a village” to make a democracy work, to sustain a strong economy, and maintain a position of respect among the nations of the world. Hard-working patriots, whether they be ditch diggers, farmers, factory workers, teachers, law enforcement officers, diplomats, or Wall Street financiers, all play a part in making America what it is.
It’s a team effort.
Diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, and aptitudes help generate ideas, innovations, and solutions to vexing problems. For the past 250 years, America has welcomed immigrants from all nations… to come to our country and add their spice to the soup… creating the Greatest Nation on Earth.
California, the state with the most vibrant economy, by far, is also the most ethnically diverse of the 50 states. (Interestingly, and not coincidentally, the U.S. states with the least vibrant economies are the ones with the least ethnically diverse populations.) The next strongest economies among states are Texas, New York, New Jersey, and Florida, all of which enjoy high degrees of ethnic and racial diversity.
There will be a lot of rhetoric in the upcoming political campaign year by supposed patriots on the subject of saving America from itself, restoring its “whiteness”, getting back to the Old Time Religion, and so forth.
In essence, Making America Great Again, the Donald Trump slogan.
All of those ideas were in force during the Trump Administration and, most assuredly, they did not make America any better than it was prior to Donald Trump. In fact, those four years proved to be very divisive, increased partisanship, generated increased racial discord, and, in many ways, subverted our democracy, and diminished our respect of government and the rule of law.
Patriotism (team work?) went out the window, replaced by a dis-United States of America, with well-meaning citizens at each other’s necks.
Too many people in this country rally around an “idea” of America that doesn’t comport with the facts. The vibrant pre-Civil War economy of the South was only possible with free, forced labor (something the other civilized nations of the world outlawed long before the United States did it). The agricultural prowess of America would be laid low without the participation of farm workers from Latin America. The transcontinental railroads would never have been built without the hard labor of Chinese immigrants. Probably half of the doctors, scientists, Silicon Valley techno wizards, and financial whiz kids on Wall Street are the children of immigrants from China, India, Pakistan, and the Middle East.
No, these patriots are not “White” and many are not “Christian” or even religious. But they are productive American citizens, helping to push the progress needle forward by contributing their talents, idea, and sweat.
When they came to our shores, they became players in the Great Experiment called “America” and, trust me, they are very happy that they’ve found a home where they can thrive, where there is a path toward upward mobility… if one has aspirations and works hard.
The current political war against “wokeness” is an attempt to whitewash the history of the United States, to pretend that things that happened never happened, to hide blemishes, to give more credit to the contributions of our W.A.S.P. ancestors, and to throw shade on those whose goal is to improve the wonderful opportunity that has been given them. The anti-Woke crowd seemingly prefers to re-engineer America back to the 1900’s, when religion was more dominant, racial injustice was the norm, and industrial and financial tycoons ran roughshod over the working masses.
Turn back the clock, they say.
That kind of talk is not patriotism… it is isolationism, it is the absence of progress, it is anti-American, it is partisanship/nationalism in its worst form. It is backward thinking.
We can only hope that enough true patriots are paying attention this election year when the candidates start up the lying, mud throwing, dirty tricks, talk of stolen elections, and how wonderful it was in the “good old days”.