According to a new poll, America is pulling back from the values that once defined it, such as patriotism, religion, and hard work. One might look at the poll results and think, “Damn, that’s not good,” — but maybe we should look at the results as an awakening.
So, why are Americans pulling back from patriotism, religion, and hard work?
With patriotism and religion specifically, there’s a growing disconnect between the ideals that many Americans traditionally associate with these values and what we see and experience in the actions of our fellow citizens.
We’re woke to that disconnect and pulling back from the values.
Religion and politics are so intertwined in America that separating them is almost impossible. And like amorous pigs in the slop, they sully one another. Christianity has taken a sharp U-turn away from values of love and charity and now travels a political highway of intolerance and bigotry. Religion in America is transparently divisive, judgmental, and hypocritical. Americans, especially the young and educated, see religion as a tool to control people and advance a political ideology. And outside the political spectrum, religion has lost its mojo for many Americans. We live in a society overbrimming with chaos, violence, and anxiety, where God is conspicuously absent.
Concerning patriotism, America is split between the loud crowd of MAGA-hat-wearing Republicans hell-bent on transforming the country into an America-First Christian Nationalist society and progressives who want to expand rights and freedoms to everyone. When a sizable chunk of American society can’t differentiate nationalism from patriotism, the unifying nature of patriotism begins to fracture. For example, millions of Americans think the assault on the capital was patriotic. And yet those people condemn the peaceful protests against systemic racism in our justice system. Until most of us can agree on what is and isn’t patriotic, we’ll continue to waver on patriotism as a value.
And finally, the belief that if you work hard in America, you can achieve anything is contradicted by an economy that sees the gap between the rich and the rest of us widen. So we no longer see generational progress in terms of the American dream; if anything, we’re moving in the opposite direction.
Many Americans are woke to the hypocrisy that is wrecking religion and polluting patriotism in our country. We’re pulling back from these values because they’ve been devalued, bastardized, and hijacked by individuals and entities who use them for political or personal gain.
Many Americans are “woke” to what’s happening to their country in the name of religion and patriotism, and they’re voicing their displeasure. And, of course, the powers-that-be are doing everything they can to cast wokeness in a negative light, because wokeness poses a threat to the status quo.
Price hikes and inflation are cyclical and are tied to global events – things will return to normalcy regardless of which party wins the majority in Congress.
Your democracy (and the freedoms it provides) is tied to local events – specifically, election day voting.
If you fail to vote against the party that espouses nationalistic and fascist views, your democracy will disappear.
If you fail to hold politicians accountable for supporting a former president’s attempts to overturn a free and fair election, your democracy will disappear.
If you vote for a party that wants to restrict freedoms and rights rather than expand them, democracy and the freedoms it provides will disappear.
‘Let he who tied the bell on the tiger take it off’
So said China’s President Xi Jinping, alluding to who is responsible for reigning in Vladimir Putin from his vicious and unlawful military assault on Ukraine.
So, who tied the bell on the Russian Tiger?
I would suggest:
The first bell was tied on the Tiger when Trump sought Russia’s cooperation in a US election.
The next bell on the tiger was Trump’s un-ending praise of Putin and other autocrats.
More bells were attached with 4 years of Trump trashing NATO alliances.
And then there was that big bell when Trump sided with Putin over US intelligence agencies, for everyone to see, in Helsinki.
Another bell on the Tiger was the Trump administration turning its back on the Kurds and letting Russia have its way in Syria.
So, President Xi is correct; America did indeed put the bell on the Tiger. A fuck-load of bells. Christ, with so many bells, we could name that Tiger Jingles.
Biden is dealing with a Russian Tiger, belled by 4 years of praise and appeasement from a thug-loving autocratic-wanna-be President who hated our NATO allies.
And now Putin, the belled Russian Tiger, is terrorizing Ukraine, murdering innocent men, women, and children.
I have my own proverb:
The belled tiger is less restrained and more dangerous after 4-years of an orange bull in Western Democracy’s China Closet.
Like a bull in a China Closet, former President Trump obliterated the norms of liberal western democracy in favor of autocratic principals, opening the door to a terroristic Tiger.
Ja Morant dunk highlights and Ukrainians struggling for their lives.
NFL Draft teasers and Russian Cruise Missiles blasting into apartment buildings.
Safe in my power recliner, sipping hot coffee, my snoring dog at my feet.
Just a few weeks ago, like me, Ukrainians lived their lives peacefully.
I imagine my Ukrainian counterpart sitting in his apartment, watching TV, petting his cat, enjoying life’s simple pleasures.
Life can turn on a dime, especially after 4 years of an American president heaping praise on autocratic dictators – softening the ground for anti-democratic movements around the globe, lauding dictators for their “strength” while bashing long-standing alliances.
If you think what is happening in Ukraine today can’t happen in America tomorrow, you’re kidding yourself.
There are anti-democratic forces in congress, and the de facto leader of the Republican party continues to praise and refuses to denounce a murderous thug’s invasion of Ukraine.
Keep this in mind when heading to the ballot box in 2022 and 2024.
Extending gloved hands skyward in racial protest, U.S. athletes Tommie Smith, center, and John Carlos stare downward during the playing of the Star Spangled Banner after Smith received the gold and Carlos the bronze for the 200 meter run at the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City on Oct. 16, 1968. Australian silver medalist Peter Norman is at left. (AP Photo)
Flags and songs aren’t people. They don’t have feelings or emotions.
The American flag and the national anthem are not capable of “feeling” respect or disrespect, any more than a dishcloth or AC DC’s “Highway to Hell.”
So, when some Americans say in anger, “He disrespected the flag” or “She disrespected the anthem!” what they’re actually saying is, “They disrespected my feelings for the flag and my feelings for my country.” I don’t deny the authenticity of their anger or their right to express it.
What I do have a problem with is their presumption. The presumption that everyone’s feelings for America should be the same – or the same as theirs.
The American experience is not uniform (and never has been). For example, as a white American male, I haven’t felt the sting of systemic racism. But just because I haven’t felt it doesn’t mean it’s not there; it simply means I didn’t experience it personally. So systemic racism did not shape my American experience, the way it shaped George Floyd’s family or the experience of millions of other African Americans.
For me to understand something that I haven’t experienced, I need to listen and employ empathy. And if there’s one thing in short supply in America, it’s empathy.
Many Americans don’t want to hear about someone else’s experience, especially if it does not mirror their own. So, when they see an Olympic athlete protest, they immediately dismiss the protester as ungrateful, selfish, and un-American. They never pause to consider that individual’s experience – they don’t want to know why the person is protesting – they simply point a finger and condemn or compare the protesting athlete to one who did not protest.
But when Americans see an aggrieved citizen of a communist country stand up for their rights, we (almost uniformly) celebrate their protest as brave and heroic. Demonstrating that even though empathy is in short supply, there’s an abundance of hypocrisy in the USA.
America was not born perfect. In the past, women and blacks could not vote, gay people could not marry, and civil rights were a pipe dream. And so, Americans (including Olympic athletes) fought, protested, and marched against these injustices.
And even though we stand head-and-shoulders above most other countries when it comes to freedom and opportunity, we are not yet that “perfect union” – that’s always going to be a goal. It’s always going to be America’s journey. And along the road to that more perfect union, Americans (and American athletes) protest or march or fight to shed light on things like racism, sexism, and voter suppression.
That’s been our history, and it has served us well.
A lot of people mistake criticism of America by citizens as hate towards their country. I would argue the opposite is true – that criticism is love when it comes to democracy.
American democracy is an ongoing experiment, one that remains in pursuit of a more perfect union. And so, America consistently tries to live up to the ideals on which she was founded. And when the government that represents us does not live up to those ideals or starts to stray away from democratic principles, we must correct America’s course, through constructive criticism, through dissent and protest, and through the vote.
In America, the citizens are not static witnesses to democracy – we don’t sit idly by when our representatives behave in ways that contradict American ideals. We don’t sit on our hands or keep our mouths shut when we see systemic racism and an unfair justice system. We don’t just go along with a president who inspires and praises a violent insurrection against our country. Instead, we speak up loudly and condemn lies and the deplorable actions that spring from those lies, and we do so because we love America, not because we hate America.
As citizens, we are not parented by our government. We are not obliged to remain silent in deference to government officials when they go afoul of democratic principles and American ideals.
In a democracy, the citizens are the parents or the controlling authority, and when you see your child behaving poorly, you don’t ignore the behavior because you love them. Instead, you criticize the behavior, demand that they change the behavior. . . . because you love them.
Somehow, our understanding of the relationship between the government and its citizens has gotten totally twisted. So many of us view our President or government as infallible parental figures that should be obeyed and respected at all times. We think that speaking out against either means you don’t love or respect America.
In a democracy, criticism is love. In a democracy, criticism is our responsibility, especially when we see America straying from the principles on which she was founded.
Republicans all over Facebook are trying to hijack patriotism with fake-ass outrage at an Olympic athlete protesting. These are the same people who turned a blind-eye to a lying ex-president who inspired and praised an insurrection against the United States of America.
“Look at me supporting the flag wavers, the anthem standers, the pledge sayers – I’m a true blue American!!”
Blech!
Posts of proud and talented athletes draped in the stars and stripes, don’t make you “patriotic.”
Posts showing disdain and disgust towards the American athlete who protested, don’t make you a “true American.”
And all the patriotic posts in the world won’t erase the un-American act of supporting a President and a political party that tried to overturn a free and fair election and destroy our democracy. That dark, dank, stank envelops you. It sticks to you like white on rice, and you can’t “patriotic-post” your way out of it.
You want to be a true blue American? Speak out forcefully against the big lie, protest voting laws that make it harder for your fellow citizens to vote, and show your outrage at the refusal to investigate a politically-motivated insurrection against your country.
They say that patriotism is the last refuge To which a scoundrel clings Steal a little and they throw you in jail Steal a lot and they make you king – Bob Dylan
Injecting patriotism into politics is nothing new. But what we saw under the Trump administration was a dangerous and poisonous variant of political patriotism that continues to threaten our democracy today.
Trump weaponized patriotism — not to marshal and unite Americans for the greater good of the country, but rather to pit Americans against one another. Trump understood that a divided America was his best hope of holding onto power — and a false and cheap patriotism was a way to achieve that.
Trump’s patriotism smacks of fascism. Its mob-like and fervor-based. It’s an America-first / white-is-right / bend-the-knee-and-kiss-the-ring form of patriotism. It’s anger-based and nationalistic. It feeds, grows, and lives on grievances, bigotry, and religious intolerance.
And what mattered most with Trump patriotism, was how loudly you proclaimed it, or how prominently you displayed it. Volume, visibility and violence were the primary elements in measuring one’s commitment to Trump’s vision for America. From MAGA hats, to Trump banners, to beating capitol police officers unconscious with American flags, Trump patriotism was loud, obnoxious, violent, and devoid of American values and human empathy. It drove a wedge between Americans and divided the country into two groups – those who shared Trumps warped view of American democracy, and everyone else.
Lately, I’ve been seeing a plethora of puffed-chested patriotic posts on social media from Trump supporters. Images of the American flag, videos of the Pledge of Allegiance, pictures of the Statue of Liberty, in what seems to be a reflexive response to the continued coverage and news stories about the January 6th insurrection.
As we learn more about that day, we now know with certainty that the violence behind the insurrection, and the ongoing lies about a stolen election, are inherently tied to Trump and the Q-wing of the Republican party. And so, many traditional republicans find themselves caught in this fuck-tangle of lies and un-patriotic behavior from the leader of their party.
What to do when faced with this sticky wicket?
Well, what we’re seeing from many Republicans is an almost obligatory need to vomit out a bunch of flag and pledge posts on social media. Maybe they think they can “patriot” their way out the conundrum in which they find themselves.
“Look at me, I love my country!!!”
I’ve no doubt that many of these folks are decent-minded Americans who actually do love their country and are now trying to reconcile their support for a man who cheered and praised the January 6th insurrection against America.
I almost feel sorry for them. Almost.
By the way, I’m not suggesting that everyone who says the pledge is un-patriotic (though publicizing it on social media seems a bit, I don’t know . . . . over-the-top) . What I am saying is that reciting the pledge in-and-of-itself is just a gesture, and has nothing to do with being or not being patriotic.
I can teach a parrot to recite the pledge, that doesn’t make the Parrot a Bald Eagle.
And in the case of Trump supporters, it doesn’t matter how often or how loudly you proclaim your patriotism, it doesn’t change the fact that you voted for an autocratic white nationalist who defied, and continues to defy, our democratic principles.
We’ve drifted so far away from the true meaning of patriotism, it’s difficult to see how we get back on track (though voting the biggest fake patriot out of office, was a good first step.)
Under the previous Administration, it was considered patriotic to shout racial epithets and condemn African Americans (and others) for taking a knee in peaceful protest against systemic racism.
Under the previous administration, it was considered patriotic to support the government when it dispersed peaceful protesters with chemical agents.
Under the previous administration, it was considered patriotic to separate children from their parents and put them in cages.
Over a four-year span of a cult-of-personality presidency, many Americans came to believe the act of supporting a president, even when he obstructed justice and abused the power of his office, was also patriotic.
America desperately needs to get back to a quiet, purposeful, and dignified patriotism. A patriotism that that unifies citizens around the democratic principles on which this country was founded, rather than a politically-fueled patriotism that divides us.
In order to do so, we must disentangle patriotism from politics.
If the four-years of the Trump presidency taught us anything, its that we need to view political patriotism with a healthy does of skepticism and suspicion. Deploying cheap, simplistic, and empty patriotism for self-gain, is not patriotism — it’s a form of fascism.
We need to continue pushing in the right direction
America is not perfect, hence the phrase toform amore perfect Union – the movement towards that objective a more perfect and more complete union, is what makes America great. It’s the journey towards self-improvement (and all the work that entails) that will continue to define America.
America is at a crossroads. To go in the right direction, we don’t need empty patriotic gestures, we need a steady, consistent, and united push towards that more perfect union.
Flag waving and saying the pledge won’t get us there – actions in support of democratic principles will.
bendingtheneedle 