In dire and uncertain times, I am questioning my patriotism. What does it really mean to be a true patriot? By definition, a patriot is “one who loves and supports his or her country”, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. And I’m starting to think that I don’t quite fit that definition. In fact, I often find myself grasping at straws to find something I’m proud of, only to be left with bottomless disappointment in the end. But do other Americans agree?
According to the Harvard Political Review, only 41% of young Americans said they were proud to call themselves Americans. But if you look even further you can see that there is a deep partisan divide. For example, 76% of young Republicans said they were proud to be American compared to the staggering low of only 24% of young Democrats that could say they were proud to be American.
And this is not far off from how the total amount of Republicans and Democrats felt about their country. In 2024. According to Gallup news, 59% of Republicans, but only 34% of Democrats, claimed that they were extremely proud to be American. And there was an even bigger gap in their opinions in 2019, when 76% of Republicans indicated that they were extremely proud to be American but only 22% of Democrats could say the same.
The question I’m left with is why? Why do Americans have such differing opinions on the state of their own country and whether or not they feel proud enough to support it? The answer lies in the values attributed to each party and the ideologies expressed in their campaigns.
Abigail O’Connell (9), explained why she thinks that there is such a difference in opinion between Democrats and Republicans on patriotism.
For example, according to Harvard Political Review, from a list of options, 28% of young Democrats stated that diversity and inclusion was an integral part of American ideals and 22% stated that democracy and civic engagement was the central part of being an American. However, 27% of young Republicans stated that economic opportunity and upward mobility was an essential part of the American identity and 21% stated that Christian values were an important part of being an American.
These Republican values are also evident in presidential campaigns because Trump has marketed himself to be a Christian leader. He sold “God Bless the USA” Bibles as his campaigns, had advertisements like “the only Bible endorsed by President Trump”, and he even signed an executive order to eliminate “anti-Christian bias” (prejudice against Christians) as president.
But Kamala Harris emphasized the rights for all people, diversity, and of course, the importance of preserving democracy at a time where it is being threatened in her campaigns. For example, former vice president Kamala Harris stated in her concession speech that, “The fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness, and the dignity of all people, a fight for the ideals at the heart of nation, the ideals that reflect America at our best, that is a fight I will never give up.”
It is clear that Americans are questioning what it truly means to be an American and who can blame them when the principles of each party could not be starker in comparison.
O’Connell expressed what she thinks defines a true American.
“America was built off of the idea that freedom is of the most importance,” O’Connell said. “That’s why we fought for independence from the British. Every American deserves to be themselves, whether that be their gender identity or sexuality, their opinions, their religion, their race or ethnicity, etc. Being an American means to fight for these freedoms and not judge or hate based on their appearance, orientation, background, or worship.”
So now, maybe you can understand why, as a young Democrat, I can not call myself a patriot. And this is hard to reconcile with this when there is this immense pressure in today’s society to be proud of your country. And it’s even harder when I walk the halls everyday in Liberty High School, and find patriotism around every corner. Our mascot is an eagle, our school is called Liberty, and it will not be long before you find an eagle or American flag boasted proudly in our school. Frankly, it makes me want to disassociate from it. In these aspects, I feel detached from my school.
“Despite being the copycat of everything American, I think patriotism is fine,” O’Connell said. “If it doesn’t personally affect me in any way, then it should still have a home at LHS. Although I, and probably many other students, don’t feel patriotic anymore, doesn’t mean others can’t feel that way. But I will say, patriotism should not be pushed upon people who don’t feel that way and don’t want to. Although I accept patriotic individuals, those thoughts and ideals should never be forcefully pushed upon another person.”
However, while I might not feel the most inclined to stand for the pledge of allegiance, I will still stand for the national anthem because the history embedded within this song is not something that I am ready to turn my back on. I deeply feel the emotions of those who have fought and died for you and I to have freedom, independence and equal rights in this country, and that is not something that we should easily forget.
Maryah Nelson, a freshman in college, conveyed her thoughts on standing for the pledge of allegiance and national anthem.
But, I am mature enough to emit that there have been many times when I was ready to give up, I was ready to throw in the towel and leave America with it being nothing other than an unpleasant memory. These feelings have never been stronger than when I was made to face the results of the 2024 presidential election. I don’t think that I have ever been so disappointed in my country than at that moment, and I was suddenly in a state of mourning. As the voting was underway I actually found myself going through the five stages of grief.
At first, I was in denial, I could not accept what was happening right in front of my own eyes. Then I felt anger, anger that people could be so greedy, and put their needs over the betterment of the country as a whole. Then I was bargaining, I was suddenly praying to a God that I had grown to lose faith in because I felt that I had no other options. I just kept thinking that I would do anything, anything to make sure that the worst case scenario would not come to fruition. “I could do that, I do could do this. I could be that, I could be this.” But it didn’t work.
Then, I felt immense depression and hurt at the fact that Americans could still be so prejudged, and I, as an individual, felt denied, and that is a knife that still cuts deep. Finally, after a long while, I felt acceptance. I realized that the fight was not over, it was only just beginning.
“The strongest emotion I felt while watching the 2024 presidential election was disappointment,” Nelson said. “It felt like everyone was so focused on the outcome of the election and not the bigger picture. They put more emphasis on things like taxes and high prices but now they’re finally getting a taste of their actions.”
In the end, even though we have faced some great difficulties, I will always reside in America because I care about my fellow Americans too much to give up on them. In fact, I am needed in my community now more than ever.
