Tangled-up Patriotism
For a long while now, I have felt like the mess of necklaces in the image above, because many of the things I care about are entangled with other issues:
I respect the principles upon which my home country was founded (such as freedom of- and freedom from- religion; freedom from tyranny &/or monarchy; embracing personal liberties), yet I struggle with the fact that those freedoms were gained by infringing upon others’ and stealing their land & livelihoods. I struggle with the fact that those freedoms were initially only meant for wealthy, white men – most of whom literally owned other human beings.
I believe in the present-day mission of the VFW Auxiliary, which is “to support the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and to serve veterans, service members, their families, and communities.” I serve as a Trustee for my local Auxiliary post, and it’s important to me to support military families because I remember first-hand what they go through.
Yet, I’m honestly not feeling very patriotic these days because my home country is currently run by corrupt clowns who make a mockery of democracy and have become the laughingstock of the entire planet.
This weekend, two seemingly contrary activities took place on the same day, and I felt compelled to participate in both. Each of the activities meant something personal to me:
First, my rural, northwestern Kansas community did not host a formally organized “No Kings” protest, yet a couple of dozen folks still showed up at a busy intersection to peacefully hold signs and American flags (along with 12+ million others around the country!!). I joined them for part of the time, and although I felt a little trepidation about potential negative responses from passers-by, the positive reactions with tooting horns and waving/cheering drivers & passengers outnumbered the rudeness by at least 10:1.
After the protest ended, I went to a community baseball game to help pass out VFW Auxiliary koozies and flags for Military Appreciation Night, which happened to also be Flag Day. I wore the same “Ally” shirt that I had worn to the protest, and we passed out our entire stock of goodies to the fans as they entered the stadium.
I think part of the reason why I feel tangled up lately is because “patriotism” has become synonymous with the red-hatters, and it breaks my heart that they have hijacked symbols that I grew up respecting like flying the American flag or putting my hand on my heart when someone sings the National Anthem … and even Christianity.
And yet, I believe in a better America and am going to keep standing up for those things: human rights; personal liberties; freedom-of and freedom-from religion; inclusion and embracing the diverse “melting pot” that made the country what it is.
However, I believe that in order to fully become all that America can be, we also must also humbly acknowledge the harms done to First Peoples, indigenous communities, persons of color, immigrants, and all manner of historically marginalized groups. If we cannot accept that goal collectively, then what does Lady Liberty even stand for?
References & further reading
VFW Auxiliary, What We Do: https://vfwauxiliary.org/what-we-do/
The phrase “united we stand, divided we fall” kept ringing in my noggin on Saturday. It’s especially confusing when that’s how I feel inside. Instead of no kings day, I spent the afternoon celebrating Father’s Day with my MAGA dad. Idk…*sigh*
A small group of friends and I joined an estimated 10,000 like-minded folks at No Kings in Dallas yesterday. We listened, laughed, talked, chanted, admired each other's signs, and helped care for each other and those having medical challenges until medics could reach them. Some played instruments, danced, and sang while others cheered them on. As individuals, we all make personal decisions to take actions we believe to be right or to do nothing. I can truthfully say that my friends and I left feeling not so alone in a world gone crazy around us. Your decision and actions were just as significant. I'm proud of you, Angela. Please continue to choose what you believe is the right thing to do! Together we can make a difference.