Patriotism

I’ve worried for a long time that a lot of things we take for granted are not true, or at least not the only way to look at things. For instance, many people believe that black people are inferior, just a step above animals, not just uneducated, narrow minded people, but “God fearing Christians.” Before the civil war these people thought they were doing negroes a favor by keeping them enslaved. In other parts of their lives they were kind, and generous. I knew some people like that when I was a child.

 

As I got older, I learned that black people are the same as whites. They have the same feelings, the same potential. Some of them are geniuses, some are talented, musically, athletically, or in other ways. It made me wonder how many other things we take for granted are not true.

 

Patriotism is one example. From childhood up we learn that America is a democracy founded on the principle that all men are created equal. That we have certain rights, such as freedom of religion, speech, assembly, and trial by jury. This sounds good, but life in the United States has never matched the words of our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution.

 

First of all, slaves were not freed and given the right to vote for almost one hundred years after our country was founded, and it was one hundred fifty years before women could vote. Political parties are still using gerrymandering to disenfranchise blacks and are using the idea of male supremacy to win the votes of women. The property rights of native Americans were ignored during the mid nineteenth century when they were forced onto reservations, and their families were separated to try and do away with their traditions. They were not granted citizenship until 1924. The right of trial by jury was ignored during WWII when Japanese Americans were herded together into prison camps. Our government is doing the same thing now, sending immigrants to prison, often in foreign countries.

 

We are taught to honor our soldiers who fight for freedom all over the world. Actually our last three wars have been mistakes. The Vietnam war was fought to stop the spread of communism. It resulted in about 3 million deaths and Vietnam still became communist. The Iraq war was started on the mistaken notion that Saddam Hussein had a part in the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. That war cost over a million lives. The Afghan war, the longest in American history, was started against the Taliban, an extreme religious group, when they refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, believed to be behind the 9/11 attack. 200,000 were killed and four million displaced. Now President Trump has started another war with Iran, for no clear reason. Hopefully he will end it, or Congress will, before it becomes a disaster like the prior three wars.

 

Domestic affairs in the US are disastrous. The discrepancy between the rich and poor is so great that, although the best medical care in the world is available here, most people don’t have access to it. Therefore we rank dead last in health care among developed nations. Homelessness in America in 2025 was the highest on record, and for unsheltered homeless, the highest of any developed nation.

 

Our government is supposed to be protected from extremes by a system of checks and balances between Congress, the President, and the courts. We’re supposed to be a democracy. But between gerrymandering, political parties control of election primaries, the elector system for choosing a president, and the lack of term limits for legislators, and judges, we’re far from that. According to statistics for the 2024 presidential election the number of voters represented by one elector varied from 89000 in Wyoming to 377000 in Michigan. Two of our last four presidents were elected even though they got a minority of the votes.

 

I think that patriotism is a tool that leaders use to shame people into following them. 

“If you don’t support the war, you’re not patriotic.”

“If you teach unpleasant parts of our history, you’re not patriotic.”

“If you think immigrants should be allowed to enter the country, you’re not patriotic.” And so on.

 

So if that means I’m not patriotic, then so be it. I’ve been fortunate to be white, educated and fairly well to do, so I can’t complain personally. Actually I feel that most of my opinions are shared by the majority of citizens. I don't think our country is the best in the world, or even close to it, but I support efforts to improve the lives of people here and others around the world. What’s wrong with that?