Patriotism Is Cringe… and I Think That's Sad

Originally posted on Facebook, July 4, 2024.

Patriotism is cringe… and I think that’s sad.

Somehow, in the last decade or so, pessimism has become a way to signal to others that you ‘get it’; that you’re aware of the insidious forces working systemically to consolidate power in the hands of a few, and maintain the status quo to the detriment of everyone else. To be optimistic and hopeful is to be naive and uninformed.

I’m too young to remember, but I’m told that the moon landing was a great uniting moment for the US. We, as a country, had set a goal, put in the resources, done the work, and it had resulted in catching up and zooming ahead in the space race.

Only a few years ago, we repeated that feat with the covid vaccine. mRNA vaccines were a brand new technology, and we led the world in the creation of it in record time. However, it feels impossible to celebrate this win in the same way as the moon landing. On the right, half the people don’t even believe the vaccine works for some reason, and on the left, no one wants to acknowledge the unique amount of money that we have in our medical system that allowed us to lead the accelerated development.

Overall, I think it’s good that we’re able to talk about the shortcomings and failures of our country, but it would be nice to celebrate our wins every once in a while too. Too much pessimism leads to apathy, and apathy, paradoxically, tends to further entrench the status quo.

A critique does not make a refutation. You can advocate for change without wanting to tear the whole thing down.

Cheers and happy July 4th! :)