But as a first-generation American of European parents, I came of age in the 1950s and ’60s with the assurance that my country was founded on the ideals of truth, decency and civility. The only remedy was to walk all the way home to get someone to help him. It’s where morality defines decency, not the waving of our flag.
"We're lucky to live in this great country. Firefighters and, in my limited experience, most police officers are patriotic in much the same way. It wasn't until World War I that Sam got a makeover and a nice suit, showing up on Army recruitment posters all over the country. What fires up liberals are America’s founding principles — “all are created equal” — and democratic institutions. Who can blame them if they’re Black and bearing the weight of inequality, manifest in gaping disparities in such areas as wealth accumulation, incarceration, and COVID-19 death rates? They see Breonna Taylor fatally shot by police and a grand jury come back with no indictment for the killing. I’m a veteran of a weekend-long workshop on undoing racism, not to mention numerous presentations on bias and diversity. He has appeared on the Discovery Channel, C-Span, and PBS. Not in my experience. They take on inherently dangerous roles, sacrificing their safety and comfort for the well-being of communities. Those that did carried both physical and emotional scars. Follow him on Twitter: @tkrattenmaker. I thought I never personally experienced racism. It is in times of war, he attests, that patriotism is at its strongest. "They say that the soldiers who fought in WWII were the greatest generation. It’s what makes our country great. To respond to a column, submit a comment to [email protected]. I must have missed the hate-my-country part. Early depictions of "Uncle Sam" around 1817 showed a grizzled old man with shabby clothing. 610.861.5300 | 3835 Green Pond Road Bethlehem, PA 18020.
Another icon of patriotism, Uncle Sam, didn't start out as the image we now have of him, according to Garrera. Adam McCann , Financial Writer Jun 22, 2020. American patriotism originated with the Revolution, and such iconic people and events as George Washington, Valley Forge, and the Battle of Yorktown. © 2020 Advance Local Media LLC. "Lincoln didn't wake up one day and decide to be a patriot ... he got his ideals from the Founding Fathers," Garrera claims. When I vote in the next couple of weeks, I’m going to keep those American ideals—and those Americans who fought for it—close to me because, as I’ve said, they bring me comfort. Patriotism is standing by America, not its president By Fred Gaines Criticizing the president for his many failures is not un-American as some of his supporters have complained. I’ve read more books and articles than you can count on racial injustice, white privilege and the like, and I’m convinced they are real things that oppress Black Americans. And without them, we as a nation, are very, very poor and I am a patriot without a home. On the way, he happened upon an older gentleman, a Marine veteran who took him to his own home, found a tire, drove young Joseph back to his car, and changed the flat for him. Many people may find it hard to celebrate a country in which racist incidents persist. The other defining characteristic of a patriot is their love of their country. You may rejoice, I must mourn.”.
Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Civil rights experts point to long wait times to vote as a sign of growing voter suppression in the U.S. It’s about as patriotic as you can get.
At that time, the iconic Uncle Sam we think of today "let people know there was something to stand up for," Garrera says. Here's what to expect in the 2020 election. Breonna Taylor's heartbreaking death exposes a chasm between law and justice, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. He's even been given a tour of the Lincoln bedroom, courtesy of President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. What then?
I served in the U.S. military, but I’ve never considered myself a patriot. And for those ideals and the comfort it brought me, I thought it was only right to serve. Trump said last month that he was extending his recently announced ban against “divisive and harmful” racial sensitivity trainings. I think so. You can leverage your privilege for the benefit of those who don’t have it — by insisting that people of color receive the same treatment as you, whether it’s from police or hiring managers or education policymakers or the politicians and election officials who are supposed to make sure everyone has the same opportunity to vote. Not that it’s physically dangerous in the same way as first responders’ work — although it can be, as witnessed by the brutal beating John Lewis absorbed as a young man and by protesters getting beaten, even killed, over recent months.
Same goes for those working to dismantle racism. One version of patriotism emphasizes, like Trump’s tweet, a showy pride in the country. That lifelong commitment to patriotism, defined as a love for or devotion to one's country, is what brought Joseph Garrera to Northampton Community College on November 12, to speak on "Patriotism in America" as part of the college's Veterans Week Celebration. The Civil War, he says, was the "high tide of patriotism ... even though those in the North and those in the South had very different ideas of what patriotism meant." That's how you can repay me.". Sacrifice, political science professor Christopher Sebastian Parker writes, is the measure of patriotism — “sacrifice in service to the common good.” Military men and women model this kind of sacrifice. And so on. It’s about yellow ribbons, “The Star Spangled Banner” and American flag lapel pins. I’m aspiring to be anti-racist and patriotic. Help people out when you can. Is that how it feels if you’re white and you’re attending a workshop, or engaging in candid conversation, about the corrosive role of racism? Then I realized I just normalized it. World War II, Vietnam and the post-9/11 conflicts each have their own brand of patriotism. It’s where facts define truth, not the bellow of the loudest bully. That is the question. It was biographies of men like George Washington that caused Abraham Lincoln, the next great patriotic icon, to become the patriot he was. The answer is that you’re going to have to give up the innocence with which you go on enjoying the benefits of being in the favored majority. ", Garrera believes that we should all be optimistic patriots. Patriotism is alive and well here, and our country is in much better shape than what some would have you believe.".
It’s true that some anti-racism activists demonstrate a bitterness, sadness and anger about their experience of life in America. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Liberals’ shyness about wearing their love of country on their sleeves leaves them open to charges of being unpatriotic — motivating Republicans to bank on this form of patriotism and make it a conspicuous part of their brand. If you want to pay me, I want you to spend your life being patriotic, too.
No one, he says, “should feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his or her race.”. But the way I’ve internalized it, there’s no call for a white person to be defensive or put on a hair shirt.
Frederick Douglass’s words still ring true: “This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. Originally focused on government employees, the ban now applies to any organization that receives government contracts or grants, the president declared. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Then I realized I just normalized it. All rights reserved (About Us). Why voter suppression in the US has increased since 2013. After a time, anything marked U.S. was said to stand for Uncle Sam. I recently attended a webinar on decentering whiteness. Yes, the very act of leveraging your privilege diminishes your privilege. It’s where courtesy in behavior and speech defines civility, no matter what our point of view. Garrera is the executive director of the Lehigh Valley Heritage Museum. One version of patriotism emphasizes, like Trump’s tweet, a showy pride in the country.
He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in American history, and serves on several prominent Abraham Lincoln organizations. It is only as I’ve aged that I have come to realize what I’d always taken for granted—that I love this country. "I'll be back to pay you," Garrera told the veteran. I’ve come to accept the reality of white privilege. Though I never was sent overseas, many of the men and women I trained with never returned from Vietnam. But it, too, constitutes the patriotic act of giving something up for the benefit of your county and fellow citizens. The moniker came from the War of 1812, when huge barrels of beef for the troops were labeled "U.S." The initials came to be associated with "Uncle" Samuel Wilson, the meat-packer who supplied the beef. A member of USA Today’s Board of Contributors, Tom Krattenmaker writes on religion and values in public life.
Daily life: I thought I never personally experienced racism.
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