Let’s be honest here. In general, people whose political ideas lean toward the liberal end
of the spectrum are not nearly as enthusiastic about patriotism as conservatives are. Whether it
be because they are too disenchanted by America’s less than exemplary history or by it’s high
rates of gun violence and hate crime, it’s lack of easily affordable nutritional food, it’s polluted
cities, flawed education system, or the fact that it has the most tornadoes and locusts of any
other country…they often cannot find it in themselves to be extremely excited about the country
that they live in.
Or perhaps it isn’t the fact that they dislike their country, maybe they are simply apathetic
toward the whole concept of nationalism and don’t see why they should be proud to live in the
country that they randomly happened to be born into.
Patriotism may not be inherently conservative, but because it has become associated
with modern conservatism, liberals naturally feel inclined to steer clear of it. Meanwhile,
conservatives have called liberals anti-patriotic for being in support of cutting military funding
and for wanting to reduce individual and state freedoms (because freedom is considered an
American ideal).
These conflicting views of patriotism may potentially lead to some uncomfortable fourth
of July celebrations, where liberals are reluctant to decorate anything with the stars and stripes
and don’t want to invite their conservative relatives or neighbors who may try to remind them
what the holiday is really about. However, there are other ways that liberals can get into the
patriotic spirit and find reasons to celebrate the fourth of July.
Even for people who think that patriotism is a pointless ideal and are too “woke” to
blindly follow along with the herd mentality, they can still be thankful for all of their favorite music
artists, movies, books, celebrities, and fast food chains that came from American culture. They
can also appreciate the diverse geography of America (although much of it may be disgusting
sagebrush desert that looks like purgatory on earth), as well as it’s quirky and diverse cities. If
all else fails, many people at least have a sense of fondness that comes from the place that they
grew up in, and hopefully growing up in America has been a nice experience for them.
There are also different ways of being patriotic. During the Vietnam War era, protesters
were known to wear the American flag as an act of resistance. At that time, wearing the stars
and stripes was in violation of a law that enforced paying respect to the flag. However, by
wearing the flag as a protest, it showed they strongly cared that they felt their country was going
in the wrong direction. Perhaps they had hope that America would respond, and they were
showcasing a form of backward patriotism.
On the other hand, if you believe America is the greatest country in the world, the least
racist country in the world, the constitution is flawless the way it was originally written, and you
wave that flag proudly on the fourth of July, your flag becomes a symbol of the form of
patriotism that liberals want nothing to do with.
If you’re a very cynical person, you may need to turn to the form of patriotism known as
ironic patriotism. What is ironic patriotism you ask? The best way to think about it is to picture
that you get stuck having to take care of a dog for some reason even though you were always
indifferent about having a pet. The dog is an ugly bulldog that makes snorting sounds all the
time and drools. Sometimes you can’t even look at it because it’s so gross, and it chews up your
shoes all the time and barks at other dogs for no reason. It’s also kind of violent, but one day
you notice that you feel lonely when you aren’t with the dog and you are actually very fond of it
because you have so many memories with it. Ironic patriotism is that kind of affection for your
country, like when your dog itches it’s privates on your carpet and you think to yourself ‘wow
that’s disgusting and awful, but that’s my boy!” Ironic patriotism may not be for everyone, but it
does help some non-patriotism-enthusiasts with their fourth of July celebration crises.
Liberals, Conservatives, and Intermediates can all find reasons to celebrate the fourth of
July. Most of the people in this country, regardless of political views, all have a common goal to
generally make America a better place and hold hope for its improvement as a country.
Unfortunately, Liberals and Conservatives have diametrically opposed ideas of how best to do
this, and are constantly pointing fingers at each other blaming the other side for seeking to ruin
America and ignorantly bringing about it’s self-destruction. Therefore, while we may all celebrate
the fourth of July this summer, it would be a bit delusional to hope that we will all be celebrating
it together.
