Independence Day: “Resist much, obey little.”

 Independence Day, 2023--

I'm really uncomfortable with the way patriotism, and love of country, has been warped and weaponized. There's a huge difference between nationalism and patriotism, and what we see sweeping through whole swaths of our country and our communities is pretty scary. If you truly are able to love something like a country, and if you truly have the right to speak your mind without fear of governmental reprisals, then you ought to be able to offer honest assessments and criticism, not just to complain, but to point out areas that may need a little improvement. 

Unfortunately, those rights, and many others, are currently being abrogated. Walt Whitman, the quintessential American and poet, said, "Resist much, obey little." My father used to have a bumper sticker on his truck that stated, "Question authority." Now, both statements do not encourage us to bitch and whine. They don't say, "shout down anyone you don't agree with." What they are asking us to do is to stop for a minute and consider what the end results of questioning might look like, and then go ahead and ask. And ask. And ask again, until you get answers. 

In many places in our country today, people are castigated or worse for asking. That is just plain un-American, in my book. John Adams was considered an "agitator" by his fellow Founders. Yes, yes, he was. He saw what could be possible, and he didn't wait around for anyone to ask his opinion. He was not a smooth politician, that's for sure. But he was boldly honest, and was not afraid to point out fallacies and prevarications, both in policy and in people. 

It's been my experience that speaking out like that doesn't win you many friends. But it's critically necessary-- I was not raised to be a sycophantic boot-licker, draping my body in a flag and singing the praises of my country without questioning. I care, and I want answers.

My eyes are wide open to the turbulent and unfair practices of the past and present. I have some hope for the future, but there are people at work every single day who want to silence people like me who care deeply about fairness and justice for all people, not just the privileged ones. No one, and no country, will ever improve, will ever be both sustaining and sustainable, if allowed to wallow in a fiction that serves the very few.

Instead of celebrating blindly, maybe we ought to be rededicating ourselves, as the Founders did, with "our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor." If we want to be --and we should be-- proud to be American citizens, then we need to make sure everyone feels free.

Take good care,

C