The other day I saw one of those giant lifted trucks spewing black smoke behind two oversized flags. One was the American flag, the other was the ‘blue lives matter’ flag. When I see those trucks I assume that person is a racist and probably supported the attempted coup which almost took away our American democracy- the very thing we built our nation for. This got me thinking about what it means to be a flag-waving patriot.
Wikipedia says patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and attachment to one’s country. As a millennial liberal with an electric car I am probably the antithesis of big truck guy but I too am a proud flag-waving American
Frustrated citizens often say things like “I could never love a country that did so-and-so horrible thing”. Many of us would not want to wave a flag because they associate it with those horrors. But “Love of country” is not love of our government or their actions. You would be hard-pressed to find many throughout history who loved all the actions of their leaders. Whether ruled by a king, a Pope, a warlord or a muti-party democracy there will always be faults to find. There will always be room for improvement. Therefore the government must be excluded from the definition of patriotism.
What is our country if not the actions of our government, then? Here’s what it means to me. It means my family, my neighbors, my friends. It means BBQ and Philly cheesesteaks. I love cheering for our athletes in the Olympics. I love hiking in our National Parks. Have you been to Yellowstone? That’s our country! So is Elvis and John Steinbeck and Thomas Edison. If you think that slavery defines America then consider that there were also abolitionists who gave everything to fight it. If you think a mass shooting is what the flag represents then consider those who line up to donate blood in a crisis. Remember the words of the great American Mr. Rogers, “look for the helpers.”
No, the wrongs of our leaders are not what the flag represents to me. I have and will continue to vote in ways to make my country, state, and city better. I will protest injustice and vote with my wallet. I will speak out loud and fight for the laws and government that I believe in. I do that because I love my country. Call it my love language.
Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and attachment to one’s country. You are my country. Even though I do not know you I will always fight to make your life better. I wave the American flag for you. Go wave the flag and let it stand for the goodness we believe in. Don’t let racists take our flag as a symbol of hate.
The Nation is a collective illusion. While it is a shared illusion, it is not universally shared. We each can speak of the Nation in the same terms, but we each mean and understand something different when we use those terms.
Both those inside and outside the Nation believe they know what the Nation is. To some the Nation is its military, to some its politicians, to some it is a building, or a document, or a place, or a flag, a certain food, a way of speaking, or manner of dress, a line on a map.
In truth, the Nation is none of these things because the Nation does not exist, except in the imagination of those who believe that it does. This does not make the Nation unimportant or meaningless. Even if you (personally) decide that the illusion is delusion, you will still live inside the beliefs of others.
The Nation can only be what we (collectively) make it. What do you believe the Nation is? What do you believe it should be? Will you work to make it what it should be?