Today a friend of mine (thanks, Gary) reported that his neighbor told him, “We are not flag-flying people.” This same neighbor--when my friend wished him a “Happy Independence Day!” --mumbled in response, “Well, good morning.”
I was not surprised. Shows of patriotism have become yet another issue over which our country is sadly divided. A July 3 New York Times article reports that a vegetable stand was having trouble getting customers because it sported an American flag. The article explains, “What was once a unifying symbol — there is a star on it for each state, after all — is now alienating to some, its stripes now fault lines between people who kneel while “The Star-Spangled Banner” plays and those for whom not pledging allegiance is an affront.”
How has this division over patriotism come to be? Once members of both major parties proudly wore a flag on their lapels. Is it because, now, one of the parties has become especially known for brandishing flags at rallies? Is it because, in another party, a deep cynicism about the history of our country has become pervasive? In highlighting our differences, have we forgotten what we share? Have we forgotten to notice the many good things about this country of ours?
Arthur C. Brooks discussed this problem in a recent column in the Atlantic magazine, “The Happy Patriot.” In the column, Brooks reports that a recent Gallup poll show a huge drop in patriotism: When respondents were asked if they were “extremely proud” to be an American, in 2003 69 percent agreed; last year only 42 percent did. Brooks also quotes Alexis de Tocqueville, a Frenchman who traveled through the new United States in the early 1830s. Tocqueville marveled at the vehemence with which Americans disagreed about politics, and yet those same Americans managed to be unified in their patriotic pride, about their desire to build the country together.
Brooks suggests that we try remembering what is good about our country, at the same time we are trying to make it better. This is just what our family did yesterday to celebrate the Fourth: we sat around the family room and everyone took a turn sharing their favorite things about America. If your family wants to give this a try, here are a few of ours to start you off, in no particular order.
1. That we have advanced medical technology providing Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson and Johnson, excellent vaccines to bring the world safety in a pandemic.
2. That we have a Constitution with checks and balances protecting us from the possibility of tyranny.
3. That we celebrate our national holiday with parades that highlight—not our military might—but our community, with high school marching bands, floats with pretty girls, cowboys on horseback, and small children twirling batons.
4. That within our nation, we have developed technological marvels—cars, airplanes, cell phones, internet—that have improved lives throughout the world
5. That we can disagree publicly with our government, safely
6. That we are founded on virtuous ideals, like “All men are created equal.”
7. That we have a strong tradition of philanthropy—both rich and not-so-rich willing to pitch in to help those less fortunate, both within our country and throughout the world.
8. That after a hard-fought victory won at great human cost, we did not punish our former enemies, but rather instigated the Marshall plan, spending $13 billion ($114 billion in 2020 dollars) to aid Western Europe in recovery.
9. That, for most, the American Dream is real, that there are no real class barriers, that a poor child can --through hard work, talent, and good fortune--become almost anything.
10. That our military does not swear allegiance to the President, or any branch of government, but to the Constitution itself.
That’s just a short list. There are many, many more great things about this country. There are also things that are not so great. But to change the not-so-great, we need to be able to believe in the greatness we have and the greatness we can achieve.
In church on Sunday, we sang “America, the Beautiful,” a stirring anthem written by Katharine Lee Bates and first published in 1895. This song has always been my favorite patriotic song, but this year the words to the song were especially meaningful to me. In the lyrics, Bates lauds the beauty and goodness of America, “Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain.” But she also points, at the end of each verse, to a need to improve our country.
“God shed his grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea.”
Though we are "good," we need to be better at living the ideals upon which we were founded, better at showing that “all men are created equal.”
God mend thine ev’ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law.
We do have flaws. But we will not change our country through rebellion; our nation can overcome those flaws through self-control. We will have true liberty as we govern through law.
May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness,
And ev’ry gain divine.
We have abundant raw material of “gold” available in our country, unlimited possibilities for greatness. But that gold will not be refined until we strive for nobleness, that is “high moral principles and ideals” (lexico.com).
The last verse points to a future when our country can achieve its promise of greatness.
Oh, beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam,
Undimmed by human tears!
As we celebrate Independence Day, 2021, may we strive to be the kind of patriot who sees beyond the years, who sees a future for our country that is “undimmed by human tears,” that is crowned with brotherhood and sisterhood.
May we be the kind of patriot who is proud to fly our flag, because of the ideals it stands for, because of what we have achieved and because of what we can yet achieve, as we work together, as we build together. May we see in that flag the vision of the “alabaster city,” the best that America can become.
Through God's grace and our own noble efforts, together, I believe we can achieve that dream.*
*With gratitude to my brilliant children, who, in our after-barbecue discussions, provided most of the material for this essay.
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