Progressive Patriotism

 

I'm tired of being told I hate America.  Not personally, but the right-wing belief that liberals hate the USA dates back to at least the Cold War, when people like Joseph McCarthy would accuse anyone remotely on the left side of the political aisle of being in bed with the Russkis.  This has certainly been brought forward into the era of the "war on terror," when anyone opposed to the Iraq War was a wussy traitor, Obama was called out for going on foreign policy "apology tours," people who think maybe, just maybe, we could approach gun violence in a different way are accused of shredding the Constitution, and advocates for marriage equality are supposedly trying to destroy American (read: "Christian") values.  Frankly, it is bullshit.  I'm tired of it.  I love America.  I want it to be a better place.  Just because I don't subscribe to a narrow, jingoistic, red-white-and-blue F*CK YEAH vision of America doesn't mean I'm not patriotic.  And not to brag, but I probably know more about American history and civics than the average tricorner-hat-wearing Tea Partier.  Doesn't that count for something?

Progressives need to do a better job of communicating their patriotism.  For far too long we have allowed the Right to monopolize the concept and define it in terms of what they believe on the issues.  Well, I'm here to say that progressive values and policies can be patriotic too.  That's why I'd like to establish the following statements of Progressive Patriotism.  Perhaps I'll revisit them and add more as time goes by and more issues come to the fore, but I think this is a good start.

This is America.  We are a country of immigrants.  We celebrate our diverse past, present, and future, and do not make judgements about an entire ethnic or religious group based on the actions of a few.

This is America.  We do not start unnecessary wars that cost thousands of American lives and bring untold suffering to others.

This is America.  We acknowledge that we are a citizen on the world stage.  We respect other countries and work with them to solve problems on a global scale.  

This is America.  We believe that anyone who's willing to work hard should earn a wage sufficient to support themselves and their family.

This is America.  We don't allow our elders to spend their golden years mired in poverty and sickness.

This is America.  We don't let someone go bankrupt because they got cancer or were injured in a terrorist attack.

This is America.  We look after the least fortunate, and provide them appropriate help to get back on their feet.

This is America.  We value education and free thought.  We use laws to support it rather than hinder it.

This is America.  We invest wisely in an infrastructure that supports the greatest economy in the world.

This is America.  We take care of our environment so that it might be enjoyed by future generations.  We use resources wisely and believe in investing in those of the future.

This is America.  We recognize the necessity of paying taxes, but demand an effective return on our investment.

This is America.  We don't put great stock in "freedom" and then obsess over how and why consenting adults have sex.

This is America.  We don't dismiss the victims of gun violence who are exercising their First Amendment right to petition their government as "political props."

This is America.  We acknowledge every part of the Constitution and Bill of Rights as applying to every citizen, even if we really don't like them or what they have done.

This is America.  We do not see conspiracy theories behind every bad event, government action, or anything associated with the United Nations.

This is America.  We base policy decisions on science, statistics, established precedent, and the historical record, rather than gut feelings or purely personal beliefs.

I think that's enough for now, but hopefully you get the point.  There's more than one way to love your country.  It's time for progressive to own their brand of patriotism.

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Footnote: Here's an example of what progressives (and Muslims, to tie things back to my previous post) have to put up with, courtesy of the American Family Association's Bryan Fischer:

"Secular fundamentalists hate this country as founded.  They hate it. They're trying to dismantle it.  President Obama hates this country as founded. That's why he's trying to transform it and make it into some kind of socialist, Marxist utopia. Because he doesn't like America, as it was founded. And Muslims don't either.  They hate America. They hate America as founded. They have the same dislike, and distaste, the same enmity toward America is it was founded that secular progressives do.  And so that's the bond that they share."