A year ago for the Fourth of July I wrote a post titled, Is This America Worth Celebrating?. The post ended with a comment wondering if I’d feel the same lamenting attitude a year later. Today I’d like to follow up on that and track those sentiments. Can this country really progress in a year’s time? Are we any better off? Better informed and equipped with any purer a heart?
On the Nature of Patriotism
Has the blind loyalty for three colors on a nylon flag become any less obstreperous? Do the colors truly mean the things they are meant to stand for? I’d say we’re no better off. In fact, in this regard the ills of patriotism turned to nationalism may even be worse. We’ve spent eight months hearing disproven claims of fraud espoused as pure truth, despite rulings being passed down against them from the highest courts in the land. This year began with a hostile force entering the Capital building, Christian and American flags held high, for the first time in 200 years. Since then it has continued without responsibility taken or those who incited it being held responsible.
I remember driving down 135 on election day and seeing a horde of trucks with multiples flags each roaring down the highway. Yet this didn’t fill me with pride or warm feelings of freedom, in reality it made me panic. This was an experience shared by many of my friends as well. Quite simply, in many circles, the flag no longer stands for pride but for prejudice. It has been claimed more aptly by nationalism than by the patriotism for which it was sewn.
When I Look at the America of Today
There has been progress towards racial reconciliation. Though we are no longer dealing with the same frequency of protests across the nation, the conversation is being had in places that it wasn’t had before. As a nation I believe that people who were unlikely to have had those conversations about race and their place in healing across that divide a year ago have found themselves having it now, myself included.
At the same time, we’ve seen increased pushback. The “debate” over critical race theory has incited fear in many people and prompted legislation that whitewashes American history in the classroom even more than it already is. Those who don’t wish to have the conversation, whether it be for fear of upsetting the status quo or an unwillingness to admit their own status as beneficiary in a broken system, have entrenched themselves against it.
I also see an America that is using disproven claims of election fraud to advance legislation that inhibits black and brown citizens, impoverished citizens, and those already disadvantaged from exercising their Constitutional right to vote. So while Juneteenth may now and forever be a national holiday, it symbolizes something that is yet to be delivered; true equity under the law.
I’m happy because in many ways there have been legal, narrative, and social steps forward towards creating the America worth celebrating. However, I’m disheartened that every step forward has been accompanied by one back. It seems that the status quo is indeed insistent on remaining the same today, tomorrow, and forever.
Can America Be Great?
If anything, I think that the last year has proven that America can one day be great. We’ve seen a lot of change wash over the nation. We’ve seen people link together for the common good. We’ve seen people come to each other’s aid in a time of economic and mental crisis. We’ve seen that Americans can indeed rise to the challenge.
As mournful as much of this article has been, we’ve seen a lot of good come from the past twelve months. The economy is recovering and millions are not just back to work but back to enjoying life outside of the confines of their own home. Millions have done their part to get vaccinated, to mask up, and to look out for their fellow citizens even when they didn’t fully understand why. We’ve seen perpetrators of racial violence prosecuted and brought to justice. We’ve seen many more open up to difficult conversation and change.
Looking Forward
My hope this coming year is that America will continue with this attitude and embracing of change. I don’t think that greatness is something any nation can ever truly achieve, but it is an ideal that can always be pursued. Herein lies what makes America great, the decision to pursue the difficult and to step bravely on a path with no clear destination- with commitment to walk it and even run it when necessary. The decision to neither go quietly into that good night nor to vanish without a fight. America may not now or ever be great but we can always pursue that path and celebrate the accomplishments when they come.
Collin Willis 