An Independence Day Note on True Enduring Patriotism
Blind nationalism and symbolic virtue signaling are no substitute for the love of our ideals
As we celebrate the 247th birthday of our nation on this Independence Day, we are undoubtedly surrounded by symbols celebrating our country - American flags, shirts praising the USA - and rituals honoring our nation - the Pledge of Allegiance, songs like God Bless America and the Star-Spangled Banner.
Let me begin by noting that I am not diminishing anyone who sings those songs or wears those clothing items or waves Old Glory. I will gladly engage in these songs today, and I plan to attend a fireworks show here in our Nation’s Capital celebrating our country’s birthday. What I wanted to discuss was the tendency to only sing those songs or brandish those symbols without a deep understanding of the ideals behind them. Although many people celebrate this holiday, some only have a nationalistic attitude that prevents them from embracing genuine patriotism. They restrict the promise of America to those who share their beliefs, appearance, and religion, instead of valuing our ideals and encouraging critical thinking.
So, here are my thoughts on what this holiday means to me and why it is a time of celebration but also reflection and inspiration…
247 years ago, these words gave this nation birth:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
This prompts one to ponder the true significance of patriotism beyond the customary symbolic gestures and evaluate its deeper purpose. Our Founders who wrote those profound words weren't just waving a flag. They were fighting for a cause. They clearly were not content with where things were. They saw a better future for which they were willing to put their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor at stake. Challenging the authority of what was then the most powerful empire on Earth was not a decision these men took lightly or casually. And that was because they weren’t fighting for a piece of paper, a flag, or a song. They were fighting for the ideals behind the Declaration of Independence - that each of us deserves equal opportunity and that each of us has a basic right to life, to freedom, and to pursue happiness as we see it.
As so often repeated and taken for granted as that idea is today, in its time, it represented a sea change in how people would view the relationship between a government and its people. The overriding idea of the time was that monarchs were granted authority by God while the people were subjects. The Founders asserted that the people have a new title - citizens - and that a government derived its legitimacy from the consent of its citizens.
After defeating the British Empire and establishing a new nation, the Founders understood they needed their own guidepost to lay out their new governing structure. Hence, the Constitution was formed. While the Constitution failed to abolish the institution of slavery - a decision that would shape our nation for the next 75 years - it also gave future generations the tools to modify our governing document. There was an implicit hope that one day the country would reflect the ideals laid out in our founding documents and extend the freedoms protected in the Bill of Rights to enslaved peoples. And that hope became reality as the nation abolished slavery in the 1860s. To me, patriotism means honoring that legacy; it means living up to what the Declaration’s primary author Thomas Jefferson wrote in an 1816 letter, which is paraphrased on the Southeast wall of his Memorial in Washington, DC:
I am not an advocate for frequent changes in laws and constitutions. But laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times. We might as well require a man to wear still the coat which fitted him when a boy as civilized society to remain ever under the regimen of their barbarous ancestors.
It means abiding by the words of the Preamble to the Constitution itself: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union.”
Far too often, we adopt a stance that if you question past government decisions and seek to upend the status quo in a responsible way, you are insufficiently patriotic; that if you loved your country, you would never question the “American way.” You are then told to “love it or leave it.” That attitude is not only juvenile but is an affront to the vision of our Founders. For they themselves broke away from the established power; they sought tremendous change. Men like Jefferson foresaw a day when slavery as an institution would be ended, even as many of them, including Jefferson himself, were slave owners. They knew what they created wasn’t set in stone but was up for reform by future generations of Americans -- that the work of perfecting our union and expanding liberty and opportunity was the work of each successive generation.
To love something or someone means truly caring for its well-being by challenging it to be better. Our democracy is based on that very concept - that we as citizens have the power to make change possible, that our experiment in self-government is worth a dose of honest reflection in order to build a more perfect union. Notice the words “more perfect.” What I love about this country is that we can be proud of our nation while still possessing a willingness to make it even better for more people. Our ideals are not mere words on an over 200-year-old piece of parchment - they are living guideposts and reminders of where we can do better. I think of the words of then-Senator and future President John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential debate:
Therefore, I think the question before the American people is: Are we doing as much as we can do? Are we as strong as we should be? Are we as strong as we must be if we’re going to maintain our independence, and if we’re going to maintain and hold out the hand of friendship to those who look to us for assistance, to those who look to us for survival? I should make it very clear that I do not think we’re doing enough, that I am not satisfied as an American with the progress that we’re making. This is a great country, but I think it could be a greater country; and this is a powerful country, but I think it could be a more powerful country.
Another mistake that some make is replacing actual patriotism with blind nationalism, which fails to see our differences and our diversity as a strength and to see that each of us are an equal part of the American family and entitled to the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness sought by our Founders.
This blind nationalism seeks to frame some Americans as more authentic than others, seeking comfort in the bumper sticker or flag t-shirt that signals to others how really patriotic they are. But this empty nationalism is hollow and fails to meet the courage and vision of our Founders. Far too many view patriotism as a way to only celebrate all that is good in America -- and there’s plenty of that to celebrate, and we shouldn’t be afraid to do so -- while ignoring the stains of the past that still haunt us today and hold us back from the country of our Founders’ vision. We cannot truly be patriotic without honoring the penchant to call our country to hold firm to its ideals of liberty, equality, and dignity for all. That ability to critique and call for a better future is the highest form of patriotism.
Our history is riddled with folks who have deemed some Americans as unpatriotic for trying to find ways to address long-standing issues of injustice while bringing us closer in alignment with the ideals of our founding documents, especially on the issue of race. For this, I harken back to what former President Barack Obama said in his 2015 speech commemorating the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Selma, Ala., honoring the civil rights marchers this way:
As we commemorate their achievement, we are well-served to remember that at the time of the marches, many in power condemned rather than praised them. Back then, they were called Communists, half-breeds, outside agitators, sexual and moral degenerates, and worse – everything but the name their parents gave them. Their faith was questioned. Their lives were threatened. Their patriotism was challenged.
And yet, what could be more American than what happened in this place?
What could more profoundly vindicate the idea of America than plain and humble people – the unsung, the downtrodden, the dreamers not of high station, not born to wealth or privilege, not of one religious tradition but many – coming together to shape their country’s course?
What greater expression of faith in the American experiment than this; what greater form of patriotism is there; than the belief that America is not yet finished, that we are strong enough to be self-critical, that each successive generation can look upon our imperfections and decide that it is in our power to remake this nation to more closely align with our highest ideals?
And these self-proclaimed patriots, who are actually just blind nationalists, often call activists “virtue signallers.” While no movement is perfect, and surely every movement has those in it who don’t live up to their ideals, I refuse to accept the notion that perfecting our union is playing “the race card” or “not loving our country.” Those who try to silence criticism while displaying patriotic symbols are actually signaling their virtue instead of fighting for it. They seem to have forgotten the noble ideals that these songs and our flag represent.
Patriotism is not merely flying our flag and singing patriotic songs, though those are great. True patriotism is coming TOGETHER as ONE -- E Pluribus Unum. We must celebrate and constantly pursue the ideals behind these symbols. We should work on the project our Founders set out for us: to make this country a more perfect union. We should see ourselves in each other, celebrate our individual rights, and nurture our common purpose - to promote the general welfare, as the Constitution calls us to do.
And it is the word “We” that has given this nation purpose, not “I”. “WE hold these truths to be self-evident”; “WE the People.” That collective ingenuity to lift each other up and to seek a better day ahead has always moved this nation forward. We are stronger together than we are alone.
That shared purpose drove the Founders to break the bondage of the British Empire, led Lincoln to preserve the Union and end the scourge of slavery, helped us build the Industrial Economy and later the tech economy, reform our economy to protect the rights of workers, overcome a Depression, defeat Imperial Japan and Nazi Germany, help shape the modern international order, help liberate dissidents behind the Iron Curtain, put humans on the Moon, unite to take on terrorists after 9/11, and vaccinate many here and around the world against COVID-19.
The power of “We” has built our democracy. But our democracy is being tested like hardly ever before in our nation’s history. We have seen politicians try to chip away at and weaken our democratic institutions. It’s been nearly two and a half years since a former president incited a mob to try to stop the peaceful transfer of power and erase the votes of the majority of Americans in the last presidential election.
We must be cognizant that these democratic values and institutions are still under attack, and we must do all we can to preserve democracy and majority rule over rule by a fanatical minority mob. The only sure way to do that is to exercise our democratic rights at the ballot box and then demand our elected officials make defense of our democratic ideals and the rule of law our top priority. At the same time, we cannot fall victim to the allure of unrealistic proposals and half-baked ideas that are no substitute for the power of the free and fair vote. Your voice matters. Your vote matters. Because our democracy matters.
We must be vigilant in defending the idea of democracy and the rule of law - the idea that we should respect election results even when we don’t like the outcome; that we cannot let elected officials tolerate election denialism; that none of us, even former presidents, are above the law. We must demand ethics and character from our leaders. And we must be vigilant in defending the right to vote that men like John Lewis at Selma risked their own lives to fight for. We should seek a politics that includes everyone, not one that seeks to shrink the electorate to fit certain electoral ends. And we should recognize that no democratic institution is worth destroying to further short-term political power plays.
We must defend the idea of a multicultural, multi-ethnic democracy against extremists who seek to narrow the promise of America to only those who share a majority faith, race, or worldview. And we must defend the idea that all of us are descendants of immigrants who came to this country, risking their own lives and fortunes, to come to the land of the free. Here, I’m reminded of what former President Ronald Reagan said about America as a land of immigrants as he prepared to leave office in 1989:
And since this is the last speech that I will give as President, I think it’s fitting to leave one final thought, an observation about a country which I love. It was stated best in a letter I received not long ago. A man wrote me and said: “You can go to live in France, but you cannot become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Germany or Turkey or Japan, but you cannot become a German, a Turk, or a Japanese. But anyone, from any corner of the Earth, can come to live in America and become an American.”
Yes, the torch of Lady Liberty symbolizes our freedom and represents our heritage, the compact with our parents, our grandparents, and our ancestors. It is that lady who gives us our great and special place in the world. For it’s the great life force of each generation of new Americans that guarantees that America’s triumph shall continue unsurpassed into the next century and beyond. Other countries may seek to compete with us; but in one vital area, as a beacon of freedom and opportunity that draws the people of the world, no country on Earth comes close.
This, I believe, is one of the most important sources of America’s greatness. We lead the world because, unique among nations, we draw our people — our strength — from every country and every corner of the world. And by doing so we continuously renew and enrich our nation. While other countries cling to the stale past, here in America we breathe life into dreams. We create the future, and the world follows us into tomorrow. Thanks to each wave of new arrivals to this land of opportunity, we’re a nation forever young, forever bursting with energy and new ideas, and always on the cutting edge, always leading the world to the next frontier. This quality is vital to our future as a nation. If we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost.
Some want to limit or reduce immigration. While we all want a secure border, we can have a lawful immigration system that meets the needs of our economy, protects our citizens, and lives up to the ideals engraved on the Statue of Liberty. What makes America great is our diversity. We should open our doors to those seeking to live their dreams, seek refuge, and to worship and work freely. As a native-born American, my eyes tear up when I hear the story of the immigrant who makes it here in America -- their love of country is amazing because they understand the ideals that truly make us a great nation. It reminds us of our common humanity and serves as a bulwark against a narrow nationalism that has led to violence and war. And it makes me proud to be an American.
We must renew civic education so that all of us – right, left, and center – understand what our government can and cannot do and grasp our constitutional system of checks and balances and separation of powers that our Founders worked tirelessly to bring into reality. We must understand that the task of nurturing, improving, and preserving our democracy is the task of all of us. We must understand that civic involvement can’t just happen every two or four years in a big election. It should be a constant task that falls on all of us to do as members of a community. We must educate ourselves on the great power and goodness but also the real limits of government.
Our democracy is threatened when we no longer have shared facts and instead live in self-created silos and echo chambers. We must renew our commitment to a facts-based discussion of real issues. And we cannot be sidelined by those who would distract us with petty culture war BS at the expense of protecting our democracy, our country, and our planet. Misinformation must be defeated in order for democracy to prevail.
And in all of this, we must know that our patriotism is bigger than symbols or songs. It is about true devotion to the country and to all our people. Always beware of those who say that they support protecting “Real” America. True patriots live on both the coasts and in the vast middle of the country. The values of liberty and justice for all are truly that: for all. I’m again reminded of what former President Obama said in his 2015 Selma speech:
We are the people Langston Hughes wrote of, who “build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how.”
We are the people Emerson wrote of, “who for truth and honor’s sake stand fast and suffer long;” who are “never tired, so long as we can see far enough.”
That’s what America is. Not stock photos or airbrushed history or feeble attempts to define some of us as more American as others. (emphasis mine) We respect the past, but we don’t pine for it. We don’t fear the future; we grab for it. America is not some fragile thing; we are large, in the words of Whitman, containing multitudes. We are boisterous and diverse and full of energy, perpetually young in spirit.
Our patriotism is the protection and furthering of the ideals those beautiful songs and symbols represent.
It is the soldier who sacrifices everything to protect us back home. It is the nurse or doctor that saves a life from disease. It is the scientists who have created life-saving vaccines and cures. It is our young people scarred by the scourge of gun violence marching for a safer country. It is the everyday person who helps their neighbor get the help they need. It is the leader who guides us to a better future. It is the activist who seeks to fill the gap between our ideals and our present. It is the writer or comic that challenges our assumptions and calls us to address challenges too often ignored. It is the immigrant who risks everything and escapes horror and places their mark on the American Dream.
Our country is facing deep challenges, and we are tired and weary. But those who seek to overturn our democracy to build a state based on minority rule and power above principled ideals cannot win if we awake from our weariness and match their cynicism with our shared optimism and hope for a better day. We must abide by the following:
We should never be afraid to fly our flag proudly or sing our anthem proudly, but we should always know that love of country means being strong and bold enough to connect our past with the future that can be. Be change makers. Never settle for what is. Be young in spirit. Do it with love for the country that has given us so much and given so much more to the world. And never be afraid to do big things TOGETHER, knowing that what unites us is much bigger than what divides us. That's the dream our Founders had for us.
Happy Birthday, America!