Imagine, if you will, a country of more than 330 million people, a melange of citizens of different colors, races, creeds, religions, and sexuality. Is it a place where there can even be such thing as an “average” citizen? Can it be a place in which one group holds sway because they feel the country is rightfully theirs to do with as they wish? Should any group (or groups) be assumed to be “less than” simply because they’re Not Like Us ©?
We hear a lot these days about people Not Like Us ©, people who (at least according to the prevailing perception) want only to destroy what those who rightfully control America have spent more than two centuries building. Whether it’s Muslims or gays or [insert name of reviled minority class here], those Not Like Us © are looking to kill REAL Americans © in the name of their false god and/or a freedom-hating ideology. Even if they’re not looking to kill us, they’re plotting to force us to live by their rules (note the stunning lack of self-awareness inherent in this belief). Whether it’s the Quran or The Homosexual Agenda ©, Americans are surrounded by doctrines that teach America is evil and must be destroyed.
Don’t get me wrong; there’s a LOT wrong with this country. Winston Churchill once said that democracy is the worst form of government imaginable…except for every other one out there. There are many things we could and should be doing better. That hardly means that America is bad or evil; this has always been a country in transition, changing and adapting as circumstances and challenges have dictated. “Adapt or die” could be America’s de facto motto, because this country has been about changing, evolving, and adapting since Day One.
America isn’t a country owned by a majority…because there no longer is a majority. Men constitute 49% of the population, and White Males are an even smaller group. Those who believe that America by rights belongs to Conservative Christian White males are living in a dream world. America is a collective, ruled by those of legal voting age committed to making their voice heard at the ballot box. Yes, White males may control much of the access to money and political power, but that fact, which becomes less true with each passing day, isn’t proof that they deserve to rule, merely that they’ve been the most successful at securing political power.
We can decry the power and influence of (largely White and Conservative) Wall Street, but the power of the numbers they have on their side pale in comparison to the power Americans of voting age have access to. In America, political power is still determined and apportioned at the ballot box, which means that we- all of us- have it within our power to impact and influence the direction this country is headed.
Truth is, there is no typical American, because we’re a country of varying ethnicities and faiths and world views. We are all [insert descriptor of your heritage]-Americans. Unless you’re a Native American, your forebears arrived on these shores from somewhere else (mine came from Ireland, Scotland, Germany, and Bohemia). Perhaps they were fleeing oppression and feared for their lives and the safety of their families. Perhaps they were looking for opportunity, the chance to build a better life. Perhaps they had an idea, a dream they couldn’t pursue in their homeland.
Whatever our history may be, the vast majority of Americans are here because our ancestors arrived from somewhere else and decided to call America “home.” Here in America, people may discriminate out of ignorance or fear, but opportunity knows no color. It doesn’t recognize and/or discriminate against religious faith, language, or heritage. It ignores sexuality, theology, and ideology. If you have an idea or a dream and you’re willing to work hard, there’s a damned good chance you might be able to make something of it.
America is a country filled with stories of people who started with nothing except an idea and a dream. They pursued that idea with know-how and the willingness to work hard to realize their dream. It’s a big reason why people from all over the world still strive to come here; they may not know our history, our politics, or our struggles, but they know that America is a place where it’s possible to realize dreams and live in relative safety, stability, and security.
A large part of what makes America possible is our diversity. Though we often hear discussion of “the average American,” there really, truly is no such creature. The depth and breadth of American diversity makes defininig “the average American” an impossible pursuit. We’re all Americans, but none of us are by any means “average.”
We all have labels; it’s what defines us and make us who we are as individuals. Those labels may say something about who we are, but they should in no way be used to limit us. The days of “Welcome to America- no Black or Irish need apply” are long behind us. We’re not an aggregation of [insert name of desired group here]-Americans, we’re Americans, a nation comprised of a constantly changing melange of people and ideas.
When we talk about patriotism and love of country something we hear a lot of this time of year- it’s difficult to understand what those things really mean until and unless we realize that loving American is to love Americans. You can’t love America while hating the people living in it. America isn’t a concept, it’s a living, breathing, ever-changing organism. To love this country- to truly honor and respect America- is to recognize, honor, and love the diverse aggregation of people who make it great.
It’s a lesson all of us could stand to learn (or be reminded of), because patriotism- love of country- isn’t about labels. It’s about love, which is an either/or proposition; you either love…or you don’t. You can’t love partially, you can’t love only some of those who make America what it is. Even though we all wear different labels, we’re all Americans, and deserving of being loved and respected as such.
THAT’S what true patriotism is about.
