I think my favorite part about last night’s Democratic convention — right after President Obama’s oratory master class and VP Joe Biden’s no-nonsense takedown of the clueless orange wanna-be dictator — was the whole arena erupting into chants of USA USA USA at one point.
Not because I love those chants or even the sentiment behind them — even if you think you’re the greatest nation on Earth or “merely” exceptional, the way to show your greatness in my opinion would be to lead by example and not by implicitly talking down to everyone else in the world — but because after having to endure decades of Republicans’ faux patriotism that paints anyone who doesn’t feel like bombing the world to pieces for every slight provocation as a weak-kneed coward, it was a true in-your-face moment.
I’ve heard there were some in the crowd who implored their fellow delegates to stop because those chants belong to Trump and his Republican party (Trumpublican!), but they miss the point. This was not only payback for all the years of the cynical and shameful questioning of their political opponents’ love of country — think decorated war hero John Kerry getting swiftboated by chickenhawk draft dodgers Bush/Cheney or Barack Obama getting harangued for not wearing a stupid flag pin, not to mention the witch hunt for his birth certificate (never forget Drumpf was the head of the birther brigade) — but it was a moment of deep catharsis where a beaten and battered collective subconscious of an entire generation of liberals reclaimed dignity, courage, and truth.
This was not a shallow battle cry to show that Democrats are bigger and louder ass kickers than Republicans. I did not perceive it as a chest-thumping our-guns-are-bigger-than-yours type tit for tat. No, what this was was an affirmation that nobody owns the idea of America, that we each have an equal voice in shaping what it means to be American, and that it’s the very diversity of people, backgrounds and experiences on display for the past 3 days in Philly that defines the country’s strength and greatness.
Or as Barack Obama said it, “I see Americans of every party, every background, every faith who believe that we are stronger together -- black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American; young, old; gay, straight; men, women, folks with disabilities, all pledging allegiance, under the same proud flag, to this big, bold country that we love.”
While I personally hope that someday humanity will evolve from nation-state patriotism to whole earth matriotism where instead of saying “God bless America” we can say “May all Beings be blessed unconditionally,” for now I think this could be a seminal moment to reclaim people’s love of country and its underlying spirit from the oppressive and manipulative fangs of false patriots. If nothing else, I raise my glass to nobody ever getting browbeaten again over a flag pin.