Patriot

When I was a kid in the 60s, we lived along the main street in a small town. We had a front-row seat to July Fourth parades every year. I loved to sit on our front porch and watch them go by, with the surge of patriotic fervor of an eight-year-old. Figures like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin were an inspiration to me. As I grew older and became more aware of the world and learned American history, some of the things I learned bothered me. Why were there so many wars? Why were we in one now, thousands of miles away? I learned about European settlers coming to America and taking over the indigenous peoples’ land, and I couldn’t understand slavery at all. Why did some of our ancestors take people from Africa and make them work for free and never allowed them freedom? While other of our ancestors strived to stop slavery?

I also learned that one of the reasons that people came from Europe was for freedom of religion. They didn’t want the government to tell them how to worship. Our new democratic government did not allow the establishment of a state religion. Many of the founders were agnostics or deists; some of them believed in God but not necessarily a specific faith and didn’t adhere to a certain religious book such as the Bible.

When our country was founded, the idea of the right to vote was new. The founders decided to create a democracy, where every citizen had a say in the government; that is, white male landowners were allowed to vote. Of course now that seems horribly wrong, but at the time it was quite revolutionary. Over the almost 250 years since the American Revolution, the right to vote was of course extended to women and to people of color. The democracy of 1776 was a step in the right direction, though. It took many decades to stop slavery and notions such as wives being the possessions of their husbands. We have indeed come a long way.

Our country and much of the world has made other progress too. People are generally becoming more of what could be called “civilized” – more aware of the rights and needs of others. Most of us avoid stereotyping people now. We are more conscious of not pointing out others’ differences. Schoolchildren are being taught kindness, to avoid bullying, and to report physical and sexual abuse. In this regard we have made tremendous strides. People of various ethnicities, backgrounds, orientations, and religions are becoming more accepted.

But this tide is beginning to turn. There are people and forces who want to go back. Some folks would like our country to go back to the times when white men dominated, when women kept quiet, when people of color “knew their place”, when one religion was taught in public schools, when people who are different are shunned. There is a movement afoot called Project 2025 which would reverse the progress that America has made. Its proponents are threatening violence to achieve their aims. It would slash environmental protection, and allow religion to be taught in public schools, which is counter to the Founders’ intentions. We must all educate ourselves about what this proposal would do, and then act and vote to stop it.

The other day my husband said something that I’d been thinking. He said, “Maybe we should put up a flag in front of our house.” I replied that I agreed, and that we love America as much as anyone else. So we did. Sometimes it seems like flags are just a seasonal summer decoration, like lit-up pine trees and red bows are sometimes just a winter decoration. But to me a flag is more. I’ve been on this earth, and an American citizen, for 64 years. I love America and all she stands for. She was a beacon on a hill way back in 1776 and she still is today. I have children and a grandchild, and I don’t want them to live in a country that is losing its freedom and progress.

We must stop and look at what is happening. This country is for all of us. We are in danger of losing our democracy and becoming a dictatorship. We have a supreme court that is in the pocket of extremists. Last week they decided that a president should in effect be a monarch. People of either political side should be able to see that this extreme move is dangerous either way. If progressives win, they also could make decisions with no consequence to them. There needs to be checks and balances.

The founding fathers of 1776 were radicals. They started a grand experiment that has mostly gotten better and better. We need to continue the work of these great people. Progressive thinkers are not the enemy. WE LOVE AMERICA. We want her, and all of us, to prosper. WE ARE PATRIOTS. My father and father-in-law served in World War II. My brother and brother-in-law served in the Vietnam War. Servicepeople deserve our highest respect. They did not serve for nothing. They served to stop the oppression of the weaker by the stronger. Let us not let their service be in vain.