The reflex is real, but it isn't only a problem on the left. The right runs the mirror image, where loving the country means loving only the parts of it that vote the right way. Same move, different jersey. Patriotism as a loyalty test instead of an actual relationship with a place that's done both real good and real harm.
The one spot I'd push is the framing. Selling it as good for progressive politics kind of concedes the game. If the reason to reclaim patriotism is that it wins elections, that's still treating it as a tactic. The stronger claim is that the self-flagellation is just wrong on the record, and it'd be wrong even if it polled beautifully.
I'm 66. The vast majority of my life I thought America was basically good, or at least mostly trying to be. Starting about 2016 that opinion started slipping. In 2024 it mostly disappeared. Coincidence? I think not. I'm hardly a progressive living in your bubble - but I think this country has really taken a turn. I don't think you have to put up a facade of rah rah patriotism to be successful, but you do have to be very thoughtful in how you discuss the flaws. Running around saying America sucks won't work, but calling out the obvious flaws that need to be addressed (and there are lots and Trump is creating more) is appropriate.
BTW - this article was too long. I read a bit and then skimmed the rest. The points could have been made in a much shorter piece. And my comment is probably too long also. 😁
The article promises to explain how it is both a good politics and a good policy to think that America is good. It delivers a lot of the first, but on the second, it basically pivots to state capacity, which is a hell of a jump.
I am 84 years old, and when I attended school civics and history lessons conceded that the American journey was far from perfect but instilled patriotism through the lens of awe in what our founders had accomplished against overwhelming odds and led the great majority of us to believe that our country was the “shining city on a hill” of Ronald Reagan, the beacon of freedom for the world embodied by the Statute of Liberty .and the last best hope for humankind in a world frightened by threat of nuclear war between two opposing superpowers, And to slightly misquote someone widely condemned by the left, that the goal of each generation should be to make America greater in every way than it had ever been - whether measured economically , on the basis of social justice, or the sum total of the happiness of its citizens.
But the left overwhelming rejects my attitude towards America, and its patriotism always has to be muted , qualified with several caveats and only admitted grudgingly under duress in many instances. It has no understanding of why the majority of voters twice decided that after being governed by Obama and the Biden and their many policies at odds with any concept of American greatness that Trump was elected under the overly simple slogan to Make America Great Again.
If you are recoiling from this post as you read it, you make my point. Dems should wholeheartedly embrace patriotism rather than appear to embrace for political gain, yet even the author and certainly the majority of comments have to provide the caveat how much there stil us wrong with America. Perfection is for the next life and for philosophers to debate, the glass of freedom and opportunity for Americans is much more than half full - it is not even a close call.
The first thing you should do if you want to convince open minded skeptics such as myself of your sincerity is to wholeheartedly support at the local and state level the reintroduction of basis civics course and the teaching of American history with a positive ( not whitewashed) view of our accomplishments , rather than supporting such totally one side views if our history as were put forward by the progressive wing of the party in The 1619 Project. Such action would prove that your patriotic impulses were since and heartfelt, but I am not holding my breath.
In fact, I would be amazed if this comment was not widely attacked as being over simplistic. And I would also guess that the younger the progressive and Democratic readers of this comment, the more likely they are to disagree. After all, many younger Democratic voters understand history so poorly that they believe communism is a viable economic choice for our country given their support for many of the most far left candidates in their party 9 who propose nationalizing and redistributing private property) in recent elections and primaries. And even centrist Democrats are unwilling to reject and ostracize these candidates because their lust for power overwhelms their principles.
I have been saying this for YEARS!!!! I am a patriotic American AND I am a lefty. Who gave the GOP the mantle of "patriot", why am i not a patriot? i think that Progressives need to loudly and proudly wear red, white, and blue during July, fly the flag, sing the National Anthem-sure, take a knee!! that is our right as patriotic Americans. But we lost a lot when we let Conservative people decide who is a patriot and who is not. I love this country, I am mad as hell at the direction we are going. When someone yells, "America, love it or leave it" I am always quick to point out that my right to identify issues with which i disagree is the clearest sign that i love this country. this is an imp article, everyone should read it!
What would make me tell a pollster I am "extremely proud" to be an American is if we achieved Scandinavian levels of self reported well-being within our incredibly diverse society.
It's never been done in the world, and the right wing is casting doubt that heterogenous societies can succeed. I want to prove them wrong.
Left wing patriotism should be proving that you can care for people who are different from you and be the most successful nation in the world.
In this framing, fighting xenophobia IS patriotic. The U.S. is incredibly diverse, and that's not changing. Half of us are women. Diversity defines us, and anything that disparages our diversity weakens our identity as a nation.
Yes, "America is bad," is certainly fundamentally wrong and will not attract voters. But a message that America is "good" simply ignores the reality of not just what trump has done, but of U.S. involvement in any number of foreign misadventures going back to the 1950s. Most people in the U.S., and indeed the world, are aware of at least a handful of these, and to simply sweep all this under the rug does nothing to improve what everyone knows to be true: America must be reformed both in our democracy and foreign policy. And so, to the extent that a tagline is needed, something that conveys that America is sick and needs our help would be correct. In addition, such an approach is proven to work, as evidenced by the maga slogan itself. If America was able to rebuild our enemies—Germany and Japan—after WWII and turn them into allies, we can certainly re-unite with the maga types on the basic issues that will move democracy forward. This isn't to suggest some type of naive, collective kumbaya moment. America is far too cynical now for something like that. Rather, whoever is to lead the Democratic Party must demonstrate a determination to heal America. And as hard as it is for Democrats to set aside, "I want to see some punishment!" that is what it will take to start this healing process. So reform—yes. Pass laws concerning campaign finance reform, ethics, voting rights, health care (the list is long), etc. But blame maga—no.
There's one transcendent patriotic issue: Democracy (rule of law, fair elections, truth; no cronyism, no kings, no corruption, etc). Who likes those who cheat to win? That's what we had largely before Trump. Biden (2022) was right on this issue. Lose Democracy and all else is in vain. Patriotism, distinctly, is not a filled out progressive agenda - at least if the Ds want to win the presidency.
This was great, and very much lines up with a bunch of Todd Rose’s collective illusions work, including in the putative solution: signifying publicly what the group does and doesn’t think about the contentious issue actually *is* a high-leverage intervention!
The reflex is real, but it isn't only a problem on the left. The right runs the mirror image, where loving the country means loving only the parts of it that vote the right way. Same move, different jersey. Patriotism as a loyalty test instead of an actual relationship with a place that's done both real good and real harm.
The one spot I'd push is the framing. Selling it as good for progressive politics kind of concedes the game. If the reason to reclaim patriotism is that it wins elections, that's still treating it as a tactic. The stronger claim is that the self-flagellation is just wrong on the record, and it'd be wrong even if it polled beautifully.
I'm 66. The vast majority of my life I thought America was basically good, or at least mostly trying to be. Starting about 2016 that opinion started slipping. In 2024 it mostly disappeared. Coincidence? I think not. I'm hardly a progressive living in your bubble - but I think this country has really taken a turn. I don't think you have to put up a facade of rah rah patriotism to be successful, but you do have to be very thoughtful in how you discuss the flaws. Running around saying America sucks won't work, but calling out the obvious flaws that need to be addressed (and there are lots and Trump is creating more) is appropriate.
BTW - this article was too long. I read a bit and then skimmed the rest. The points could have been made in a much shorter piece. And my comment is probably too long also. 😁
The article promises to explain how it is both a good politics and a good policy to think that America is good. It delivers a lot of the first, but on the second, it basically pivots to state capacity, which is a hell of a jump.
I am 84 years old, and when I attended school civics and history lessons conceded that the American journey was far from perfect but instilled patriotism through the lens of awe in what our founders had accomplished against overwhelming odds and led the great majority of us to believe that our country was the “shining city on a hill” of Ronald Reagan, the beacon of freedom for the world embodied by the Statute of Liberty .and the last best hope for humankind in a world frightened by threat of nuclear war between two opposing superpowers, And to slightly misquote someone widely condemned by the left, that the goal of each generation should be to make America greater in every way than it had ever been - whether measured economically , on the basis of social justice, or the sum total of the happiness of its citizens.
But the left overwhelming rejects my attitude towards America, and its patriotism always has to be muted , qualified with several caveats and only admitted grudgingly under duress in many instances. It has no understanding of why the majority of voters twice decided that after being governed by Obama and the Biden and their many policies at odds with any concept of American greatness that Trump was elected under the overly simple slogan to Make America Great Again.
If you are recoiling from this post as you read it, you make my point. Dems should wholeheartedly embrace patriotism rather than appear to embrace for political gain, yet even the author and certainly the majority of comments have to provide the caveat how much there stil us wrong with America. Perfection is for the next life and for philosophers to debate, the glass of freedom and opportunity for Americans is much more than half full - it is not even a close call.
The first thing you should do if you want to convince open minded skeptics such as myself of your sincerity is to wholeheartedly support at the local and state level the reintroduction of basis civics course and the teaching of American history with a positive ( not whitewashed) view of our accomplishments , rather than supporting such totally one side views if our history as were put forward by the progressive wing of the party in The 1619 Project. Such action would prove that your patriotic impulses were since and heartfelt, but I am not holding my breath.
In fact, I would be amazed if this comment was not widely attacked as being over simplistic. And I would also guess that the younger the progressive and Democratic readers of this comment, the more likely they are to disagree. After all, many younger Democratic voters understand history so poorly that they believe communism is a viable economic choice for our country given their support for many of the most far left candidates in their party 9 who propose nationalizing and redistributing private property) in recent elections and primaries. And even centrist Democrats are unwilling to reject and ostracize these candidates because their lust for power overwhelms their principles.
I have been saying this for YEARS!!!! I am a patriotic American AND I am a lefty. Who gave the GOP the mantle of "patriot", why am i not a patriot? i think that Progressives need to loudly and proudly wear red, white, and blue during July, fly the flag, sing the National Anthem-sure, take a knee!! that is our right as patriotic Americans. But we lost a lot when we let Conservative people decide who is a patriot and who is not. I love this country, I am mad as hell at the direction we are going. When someone yells, "America, love it or leave it" I am always quick to point out that my right to identify issues with which i disagree is the clearest sign that i love this country. this is an imp article, everyone should read it!
What would make me tell a pollster I am "extremely proud" to be an American is if we achieved Scandinavian levels of self reported well-being within our incredibly diverse society.
It's never been done in the world, and the right wing is casting doubt that heterogenous societies can succeed. I want to prove them wrong.
Left wing patriotism should be proving that you can care for people who are different from you and be the most successful nation in the world.
In this framing, fighting xenophobia IS patriotic. The U.S. is incredibly diverse, and that's not changing. Half of us are women. Diversity defines us, and anything that disparages our diversity weakens our identity as a nation.
Yes, "America is bad," is certainly fundamentally wrong and will not attract voters. But a message that America is "good" simply ignores the reality of not just what trump has done, but of U.S. involvement in any number of foreign misadventures going back to the 1950s. Most people in the U.S., and indeed the world, are aware of at least a handful of these, and to simply sweep all this under the rug does nothing to improve what everyone knows to be true: America must be reformed both in our democracy and foreign policy. And so, to the extent that a tagline is needed, something that conveys that America is sick and needs our help would be correct. In addition, such an approach is proven to work, as evidenced by the maga slogan itself. If America was able to rebuild our enemies—Germany and Japan—after WWII and turn them into allies, we can certainly re-unite with the maga types on the basic issues that will move democracy forward. This isn't to suggest some type of naive, collective kumbaya moment. America is far too cynical now for something like that. Rather, whoever is to lead the Democratic Party must demonstrate a determination to heal America. And as hard as it is for Democrats to set aside, "I want to see some punishment!" that is what it will take to start this healing process. So reform—yes. Pass laws concerning campaign finance reform, ethics, voting rights, health care (the list is long), etc. But blame maga—no.
There's one transcendent patriotic issue: Democracy (rule of law, fair elections, truth; no cronyism, no kings, no corruption, etc). Who likes those who cheat to win? That's what we had largely before Trump. Biden (2022) was right on this issue. Lose Democracy and all else is in vain. Patriotism, distinctly, is not a filled out progressive agenda - at least if the Ds want to win the presidency.
This was great, and very much lines up with a bunch of Todd Rose’s collective illusions work, including in the putative solution: signifying publicly what the group does and doesn’t think about the contentious issue actually *is* a high-leverage intervention!