Defining Patriotism

@agodissart went on Threads on the 4^th of July and posted, “DemoRATS stay home! No watching fireworks or eating a hot dog off the grill. These activities are for patriots only!” When I see those sorts of provocative posts, I often assume they were bot generated “rage-bait,” and I looked at this user profile, and I can’t really tell if that is the case here or not, but whatever it is or isn’t, it’s echoing something I’ve heard many times before, dating all the way back to when I lived in a conservative suburb in Texas. We were outliers there as left-leaning Democrats. We did try to keep that somewhat quiet for our kids’ sakes, not to mention which we didn’t want to invite vandalism (a real concern), but word got around, and it was made clear to us by neighbors and other parents that we were not considered true, blue Americans in their eyes. I thought we’d escaped that sort of prejudice coming to the northeast, but MAGA happened, and that sentiment has been amplified across the country. Many of us have felt it and commented on it, on social media and to one another as we meet walking our dogs. MAGA supporters, we will say to one another, seem to drape themselves in the flag, sometimes literally (prompting one Canadian to ask whether we learned flag etiquette in school), and level the charge that anyone outside the fold doesn’t love America. I am here to set the record straight on what it is to be a patriot.

Being a patriot can look like any number of things: it’s not who displays the biggest flag. If you love your country, that’s patriotism, but to capture the spirit of President Kennedy, it’s not enough to love it, it’s what we do to show that love that counts as patriotic, and I for one believe that means looking outside just ourselves and our narrow interest groups.

Because I love my country, I feel it is important to point out is not yet a perfect union. In a free society, one can love one’s country and accept it has flaws. I challenge that acknowledging its imperfections is indeed our patriotic duty on behalf of all our neighbors, because only then can the country be motivated to resolve our shortcomings to better serve each of us as is our right.

Because I love my country I believe in my duty to call out what I believe are the current administration’s attempts to undo the checks and balances that were put in place to preserve and protect a democratic system of government. Remaining silent means we lose all hope of that perfect union we all wish for.

Because I love my country, particularly the wilderness and parks, and the little fawn I saw cavorting in the neighbor’s yard this morning, I believe we need to defend the environment and environmental protections that the Trump administration has been stripping away. If we don’t, it’s not just the fawn who will lose out, it’s our children and grandchildren who will suffer from climate change as they grow.

Because I love my country, I have chosen to write the book I did and this blog. I don’t have the corner on truth, but if I see injustice against myself or anyone else, I believe I have a patriotic duty to spotlight it. You can believe in my theories and conclusions or reject them; that is your right in a free society as much as it is mine to put them forward. That’s the beautiful thing about America.

Because I love my country, I must believe that people like that Thread account holder – assuming it is an actual person –  have the right to say what they like. But I have a right, maybe even a duty, to refute it. The day we stop fighting against prejudice no matter what form it takes: racial, homophobic, religious, or political, is the day we stop being patriots.

Because I love my country, I believe I have a duty to call out injustice no matter where I see it, including in the halls of power. Especially in the halls of power. Patriotism has nothing to do with blind loyalty to a president. It has everything to do with how you treat one another. America isn’t the soil we stand on, and it most certainly isn’t the Oval Office; it’s the people and the rights the constitution grants to each of us, even the ones who don’t think or look like us.

Adlai Stevenson II once said, “True patriotism, it seems to me, is based on tolerance and a large measure of humility.” Those strike me as wise words, so go out there and be patriotic, and grab a hot dog and beer along the way if you want one.