Have Some Pride, America!

"If we love our country, we should also love our countrymen." - Ronald Reagan

2020 was a rough year. It was a year of fear, anger, hate, and division. It was also a year of mixed messages... a year in which what one believed to be the truth had more to do with their political party affiliation than scientific facts and common sense.

Last year, Independence Day occurred at the crescendo of this strange year. Just over a month after George Floyd was killed and at a time when many state and local governments had recently re-instated shutdowns, people were rightfully pissed off, confused, and looking for an outlet for their frustration.

A Gallup Poll taken in June of 2020 showed patriotism had declined for the sixth consecutive year and had fallen to an all-time low. Capitalizing on a closed America and this sentiment, there was a coordinated effort by the media and activists on the far-left to "cancel" the Fourth of July by labeling patriotism as problematic due to our nation's checkered past.

As we have stated previously, the painful truth of the promise of 1776 is that its implementation wasn’t perfect — far from it — and many were left behind because of immutable characteristics such as their race or sex. However, it is important to recognize that the failure to properly implement that promise immediately doesn't corrupt the promise itself or make it any less valid.

We should have tremendous pride in how far we have come as a nation as we move ever closer to the "more perfect union" alluded to in our Constitution. No longer are massive amounts of people systemically discriminated against on account of their differences, but instead we find it challenging to unify and celebrate as a nation over what makes us all the same.

In the past, the Fourth of July has served as that time, but in many parts of the country, massive Independence Day celebrations may soon be a thing of the past. As Real Clear Politics co-founder, Tom Bevan observed: "My home town of Evanston, Illinois is having a Juneteenth Parade and a Gay Pride Parade, but is cancelling the 4th of July Parade & Fireworks [over COVID-19 concerns]."

Setting aside the hypocrisy of a city having COVID-19 concerns regarding one type of gathering over another (an occurrence frequently observed last summer during protests and riots in our major cities), this example underscores how seriously modern society takes celebrating and demonstrating pride in what makes us different at the expense of celebrating the things that should bring us all together.

Given the prevalence of tribalism and identity politics in our national dialogue, this outcome should come as no surprise. With each passing year, political movements are no longer fought on the merits of their platforms and what they could do to make the country a better place for everyone, but instead seek to do something much simpler and dangerous - channel anger and resentment into political contributions and votes at the polling booth so those seeking power can wield it.

As we celebrate the birth of our nation, let’s all make a conscious effort to get past this. Let's celebrate being Americans. Together. The only way to do so is to talk to each other and find common ground. Go out and have an open and honest conversation with your neighbor about what you believe and why you believe it. More importantly, listen to them and try to understand what they believe and why they believe it. You might find you agree on a lot more than you realized.

Just as a lack of communication can foster anger and resentment that can kill a marriage or friendship, a shortage of forums for citizens to express their ideas and have an open, honest dialogue with their local community can destroy a nation. This Independence Day, let’s have some pride in America and do what our Founding Fathers did: discuss, debate, deliberate, and in the end, come together on common ground as a single unified people. We won't agree on everything. We were never meant to. But that shouldn't stop us from working toward that "more perfect union" together.

SIDE NOTE: M.D.P. was conceptualized last Fourth of July as a philosophical outlet to help the average citizen think critically and come together on common ground. Today marks our thirtieth essay. Are there issues you would like to see us discuss or cover? If so, please feel free to click here to make a suggestion.