It sounds more like a high school composition assignment than a serious question: What is patriotism?
But sappy as it might seem, it’s a question worth some thought this Independence Day.
Maybe the mere fact that it sounds sappy says a lot about what we think of patriotism now. Maybe we’ve grown numb to the often-maudlin performances of patriotic songs, of popular singers’ cringe-worthy interpretations of the national anthem at football games.
Maybe there just isn’t a fireworks show spectacular enough to move us anymore.
Or better yet, unite us.
Perhaps part of the problem is that we’ve become so focused on the trappings of patriotism — the flags, the fireworks, the songs — that we’ve neglected the true meaning of the word. We make a show of looking patriotic, but we don’t always act like it. We quote the Founding Fathers, but how many votes would any of them get today?
The knee-jerk anger at anyone of a different political stripe, at elected officials who come from “the other side,” isn’t making us great. Democracy hinges on collaboration and political compromise, but few seem willing to unclench and engage in anything of the sort. Neither side trusts the motives of the other anymore.
We fly American flags with 50 stars for the 50 states, but we no longer see states as stars; we see them as red or blue. Enemy or ally.
Some even recoil at the flag itself now because it’s so often flown as a show of defiance, an in-your-face political statement.
But if we’re down to resenting our own flag, or we’re disgracing that proud flag by using it to threaten our fellow countrymen, we’re forgetting one of the main tenets of a nation long considered a shining example to the rest of the world.
It’s summed up elegantly in the final line of the Declaration of Independence:
“And for the support of this Declaration … we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
It was a bold announcement that the colonies were through with England, and it was a statement of unity among those 13 original colonies — Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Virginia.
Can you imagine the modern versions of those colonies agreeing on much of anything now?
Considering what this country has survived in the past year or so — a pandemic that killed more than 600,000 of us, even a violent breach of the U.S. Capitol itself — we probably have more to celebrate this Fourth than any other in most of our lifetimes.
This Fourth, rather than seeing how loud and bright your fireworks can get (and seriously, they’re a foolish idea in these weather conditions anyway), stop for a minute and think about the true meaning of this day. Appreciate that even though we won’t win every political argument, we’ve somehow managed to keep a democracy together for 245 years now.
We got here because so many have pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.
"Opinion" - Google News
July 04, 2021 at 03:00PM
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Opinion: This Fourth, stop and think about the true meaning of this day - Yakima Herald-Republic
"Opinion" - Google News
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