The Fourth of July passed without much fanfare or fireworks in our household. Generalized moving fatigue had us in bed before sunset, so fireworks were out of the question.
It’s also not a time to feel particularly patriotic, whatever patriotism might be. Patriotism is widely understood as attachment to one’s own country, but what exactly is this country?
For most folks, patriotism is aligned with government institutions and symbols. The flag, the Capitol, the White House and other iconic representations of our democratic republic have been unifying representations of shared values and traditions. It’s hard to embrace them now.
The flag has been so thoroughly commercialized and co-opted for partisanship that I find it an unpleasant symbol, not a noble one. The current president is a national embarrassment, making the White House a symbol of shame, not pride. The Capitol itself, once a place of dignity, deliberation and courage, is now a place one can only view with cynicism. Representatives and senators are beholden to donors, not ordinary citizens, and express their partisan loyalties with dishonest and insincere rhetoric.
I’ve kept a copy of the Declaration of Independence and a pocket-sized copy of the Constitution in my briefcase for several decades. It is to these founding documents we must turn in times like these.
The Declaration of Independence states: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
It is amusing to note the Fourth of July kerfuffle that arose when National Public Radio tweeted the Declaration of Independence. A significant number of citizens reacted with great anger, believing the words to be a call to revolution against the current administration, rather than the bold words of our nation’s founders. Too many “faux” patriots who festoon themselves with flags and cars with God Bless America bumper stickers have, evidently, never read the Declaration of Independence.
A similar lack of knowledge of the Constitution plagues Americans on both sides of the deep political divide. I have found that lack even among well-educated colleagues, who are quite politically vociferous, but often unaware of the Constitutional implications of the positions they so energetically embrace.
It is ironic that the angry folks who responded to NPR’s patriotic tweets thought NPR was inciting a revolution. They were right, although probably inadvertently. The words of the Declaration are revolutionary and they should incite us to action. And the articles of the Constitution and its amendments, not muskets or cannons, can be the weapons of this revolution. It is the genius of our founding that allows revolution without violence.
The clear imperative of the Declaration of Independence was followed by the prescience of the founders, who crafted the Constitution so that the “Right of the People to alter or to abolish” (the government) was explicit.
The Constitution provides the mechanism to remove from office the president or any legislator or judge who violates the trust we have placed in them. The Constitution gives us the right to replace the dishonest representatives who bow to corporate interests instead of meeting citizens’ needs.
We have a president who many believe is manifestly unfit to serve. He can be removed without violence, by impeachment or invocation of the 25th Amendment.
Our elected officials are aggressively attempting to place millions in peril by restricting rather than expanding the right to health care. They are complicit in the rapid destruction of our public education system. It needn’t be so. They can be bent to the national interests or removed by ballot.
Our resources and environment are at great peril. It needn’t be so. They can be preserved by legislative action.
We can insist that our country do its part to address the existential threats of climate change and nuclear cataclysm.
True patriotism is not flag-waving, bumper stickers, fireworks or parades. True patriotism is exhibited by heeding the wisdom of our founders and acting within the Constitution to alter a government that has become “destructive of these ends.”
We are not helpless. Five percent of us can change the world. In every congressional district, in every state of the union, ordinary citizens can bring about the extraordinary changes we need to save the nation our founders envisioned for us.
Put away the flags and sparklers. Run for office. Vote. Protest. Campaign for someone who will truly represent our interests. Alter a government that has become destructive.
That’s patriotism.
Steve Nelson lives in Boulder, Colo., and Sharon. He can be reached at stevehutnelson@gmail.com