Growing up in the American education system, I recited the Pledge of Allegiance each and every morning after the first bell rang. In history class, I learned about Christopher Columbus’ discovery of America. I learned about our Founding Fathers, and by the fifth grade, I could recite the Preamble just as I could the alphabet. I was taught all about American history, but I was never really taught to be proud of it.
When I got older, it seemed like the cool thing to do among me and my peers was to have this sense of undying love for our country, just because Target started selling bikinis and board shorts with stars and stripes on them. Yet, I still didn’t really know why I was proud of my country back then. All I knew was that I really wanted that bikini.
Merriam-Webster’s definition of “patriotic” is as follows:
“Having or showing great love and support for your country : having or showing patriotism”
It seems that each year, more and more people are excited to celebrate Independence Day -- not for the meaning behind it, not out of love and support for our country, but for the boating, barbecues, bikinis and most importantly…the Instagram photo. It’s starting to feel like the Fourth of July is becoming the new Valentine's Day. A commercial holiday, if you will.
Now, I’m not saying that wearing an outfit of all stars and stripes is a bad thing. I’m all for throwing a rack of ribs and some corn on the grill, playing backyard games and enjoying the sun on the day we finally got our freedom. I’m all for you representing our country via the choice of your outfit and the activities you choose to pursue. What I am saying is that celebrating our country’s independence is more than just that.
Some may think that in lieu of recent events, it's hard to have undying love and support for our country. The presidential election has caused a lot of divide amongst our nation -- we seem to be arguing now more than ever. But we have to remember that we can’t let it discourage us. America is the place where citizens should feel safe expressing their opinions protected by the First Amendment. We encourage free thinking as a way to explore our own minds and learn from one another. We can’t let the controversy scare us. We have to be open-minded and listen to one another. Don’t lose pride in our nation because there appears to be a temporary divide.
There are many reasons to still celebrate our country. We have a military willing to put their lives on the line for our freedom at any given second; we have the freedom to speak our mind; we have the freedom to pick and choose which religion we belong to, if any at all. We are allowed to vote for our next president -- think of all the freedom that we do have as an independent nation instead of the things that we haven't quite gotten to yet. There is a lot of work to do, I will admit. But we can't let the fact that we haven't reached all of our ideal goals yet diminish the truth: that our country has come a long way in its 240 years of existence. We don't always start off on the right foot, but our status as a free nation allows us to make changes in the things that we do not agree with.
And most importantly: please, if you are going to let this year's presidential election, gun control issues, or any other arguable offense affect your pride in this country, keep your starred and striped bikini/board shorts in the closet this Independence Day. Don’t pretend to be proud of your nation just to fit in with the crowd. That Instagram post can wait until you are truly proud to be a part of this country. Remember what democracy is about. Remember the principles that our country was founded on.
Let’s take it back.
