Patriotism, not nihilism.
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Greetings to those of you new here, and Happy Fourth! Here's the deal. I am a Gen-Z man, about to celebrate the Fourth of July. And, like many in my generation, I vehemently crave drastic change in this country of ours. But, before you click off because I'm already "unpatriotic," allow me to clear some fog straight away.
The recent issues in our country being brought to the table every single week are seemingly endless; the SpaceX IPO looking like more of a long-term economic problem than a positive thing, DJT last-minute reversing his decision to sign a bi-partisan affordable housing bill to get another attempt to force through his beloved SAVE America Act, [[1]] the geopolitical implications of the Iran War, Israel's complex tie-in, the cascading effects of said war as it relates to the free flow of the Straight of Hormuz and energy price restabilization being predictably slow, rampant inflation across...basically everything, a demonstrably weird job market and hugely competing interests in the housing market, the CPI (Consumer Price Index) rising 4.2% from last May, wage growth is being outpaced by inflation (so we have a middle-class with rapidly eroding purchasing power as income inequality widens)[[2]], we have a President who is the first in history to have made literal billions of dollars (along with his family) while in office from a crypto business that he has the power to regulate[[3]], and so on and so forth.
Right off the bat, you know where I stand on many of those issues. I have a hard time believing any die-hard MAGA or other far-right exponents would even be reading this, but their commentary in response to the above ideas is often a "whataboutism," [[4]] where you get interrogated firstly and most vehemently on why you didn't bring up other problems - such as how migrants are ruining elections, housing, jobs, your kids' safety, and doing fraud - or Hunter Biden's hardly comparable shady business dealings. Certainly I could have kept that paragraph going in terms of the pivotal issues America faces today, but I promised a clearing up of the "fog." I mean really... am I unpatriotic, or what?!
Of course not. In fact, the exact reason I hold back feelings of impatience when speaking with fellow Americans who won't engage in discussion about solving real problems — is because I love my country! This year, like every other Fourth in my life, I am spending my time at the lake. We always have a grill out somewhere. We always have beer out somewhere. And we always have an American flag out somewhere, in a place of prominence.
We have our own little Fourth of July traditions here at Lake Martin, and in 2018 we participated in a patriotic boat parade near one of my favorite rocks to jump off of when I was a kid. Truthfully, this holiday has always been an important one for our family to gather to spend time together in the water, on the boat, or next to the grill as my dad wears his favorite shirt for the occasion -
I couldn't find the light blue version of this that he is wearing, but you get the idea. Needless to say I grew up in a patriotic family, which instilled in me the value of appreciating what our country means to us, the freedoms it offers us, and the sacrifices that were made by generations of American heroes to make that happen. What I would say to those who accuse people sharing my sentiments on our nation's shortcomings of not loving your country, being Anti-American, or being uninformed about the state of other nations and being ungrateful for your freedoms, is this: Believe it or not, I love my country as much as you do. I have not denounced my country just because I have deep concerns about our economic direction and increased political corruption that would make Watergate be 'a 12 hour news story' today [[5]] that couldn't cause a U.S. president to resign. I've done the opposite: I've embraced it with open arms.
So no, I don't need to love America more. To indicate that I do is not a good argument and a refute to my fair criticisms, nor is it a relevant point in the first place. Because I already love it, a lot, and I love so many of the wonderful people that I see both in my normal day to day, and in my travels around the country. I acknowledge that we have a divided political climate among our citizens, but that's not caused by vast differences among citizens. If anyone disagrees with me politically, they have so much in common with me, still — and importantly, that bit gives me a huge boost of optimism. That's the core idea of this blog post: having hope that we will continue fighting for our country's best interests, rather than falling too deeply into economic nihilism (like many in my generation, understandably, do) or general pessimism that things will not get better.
It is my belief that things are not as totally divided as they may appear. Finding common ground seems like it would be too difficult, especially online, but what about connecting with fellow citizens in real life, where things aren't so inflamed? With the right conversational tactics that do not attack and dismiss one's opinion, I have had several respectful conversations with those I disagree with in the past couple years. I've learned about the things we do agree on, kept an open mind, been surprised by some of the things that we agreed upon, and surprised by my ability to teach people I disagree with about my viewpoints and get them to actually listen (again, this requires the right "sauce").
Rick Steves is an American travel writer and television show host that I was introduced to by my parents and grandparents. Now, here are some Rick Steves quotes I got from his Fourth of July FaceBook post my mom just showed me:
"rise above the maddening headlines"
"the world may look on with a little trepidation right now,"
"let's celebrate the importance of a community that takes care of its neighbors."
These are all contextualized by an American traveler who has spent 50 years of summers in Europe, reflecting on how he's spending the Fourth this year in his home in Washington, and how all of his travels through Europe have helped him understand how appreciated Americans still are, abroad. Steves is vocally anti-Trump and against the idea that the president should have unprecedented levels of power, but clearly a patriot. I want this country to realize its potential and serve its young citizens in a better way: One that makes them feel as though they are being looked after by leaders of government, corporations, and older generations rather than feeling squeezed and worse off than our parents (for the first time in American history). And of course, the beauty of the freedoms we have in America means that I can be vocally critical like Rick Steves, without fear of my post being taken down or flagged by a government entity.
And today, like Steves, I will be celebrating this amazing country we love, its impressive endurance as a result of massive efforts, sacrifice, forward thinking, and a bit of geographic luck – and I will celebrate its people – fellow patriots, even those that would call me unpatriotic.
[[1]]: Senate Republicans remain defiant, he's been defeated by the courts, and instances of voter fraud are rare
[[2]]: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/america-middle-class-spending-power-112156244.html
[[3]]: Important people from every side of our political apparatus have called this out as the most disgustingly blatant act of corruption performed by a sitting President in our country's 250 year history.
[[4]]: You should see Issac Saul's explanation & examples of Whataboutism, but you need not be a savant to predict when people won't engage with your points at all, and instead go straight for this tactic.
[[5]]: So who said that last week? That'd be VP Vance, on Nixon's side after Watergate. Interestingly, JD Vance said of the scandal recently (in the same breath), that the idea that it could take down a president is 'crazy,' and that Richard Nixon was simply taken down by 'deep state' forces.
