Posted on 07/07/2023 6:43:14 AM PDT by DeweyCA
What, precisely, is it about America you love?
That’s the question this July 4 as just 29% of Democrats say they’re extremely proud of the country, accompanied by just 33% of Independents and 60% of Republicans. In fact, Democratic love of country has always fallen far behind that of Republicans, even during the Obama era, when it hit a temporary high of just over 50% (Republicans at the time said they were extremely proud of the country at a rate of approximately 70%).
Why is it that liberals in the United States are so much less proud of America than conservatives? These days, the answer typically given is America’s inherent sinfulness; there is nothing in the American founding worth conserving. On Independence Day, Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., tweeted, “The Declaration of Independence was written by enslavers and didn’t recognize Black people as human. Today is a great day to demand Reparations Now.” Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., similarly tweeted, “This July 4th, we must remember that we stand on stolen land toiled by enslaved Africans and recommit ourselves to the fight for freedom, equality, & justice so that these ideals are accessible to everyone, not just a privileged few. We are not free until everyone is truly free.”
America, to these types, is a platform for utopianism rather than a set of ideals worthy of emulation. The Declaration of Independence was a lie; the Constitution was merely a guise for power. And the quest for a perfect world must begin in tearing down such institutions with whatever means are at our disposal. The ends justify the means.
Thus, while Democrats fulminate over supposed threats to democracy, a federal judge this week ruled that the Biden administration violated the First Amendment in pressuring social media companies to restrict free speech regarding COVID-19 and the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, among others; the Supreme Court ruled that the Biden White House had violated its constitutional boundaries in waiving student loan debt. Biden’s response: He pledged to utilize the executive branch to work around the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Respect for the founding means respect for founding principles. Biden and his ilk have used a misinterpretation of one founding principle — “equality” — to vitiate the natural rights for which the founders originally fought. When the founders said that “all men are created equal,” they meant specifically that human beings had been “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” They did not mean, as Biden suggests, that all human beings ought to be made equal in result, or that indeed, all human beings are equal in all capacities. Biden’s idea is utopian nonsense; the founders’ idea was grounded in millennia of evidence and Judeo-Christian tradition.
Patriots celebrate the founding for what it was: a breakthrough in the nature of human governance, a ringing statement in favor of liberty from the heavy hand of tyranny. Today, too many celebrate the founding only as a platform for future change — change that would annihilate the ideals of the founding along the road to a “higher good.” This, presumably, is why Republicans are far more patriotic than Democrats even while saying that America is in the midst of a moral crisis; meanwhile, Democrats are far less patriotic while suggesting pride in America’s current moral state. Conservatives are disappointed with man’s sinfulness, but proud of the founders’ ideals; many liberals are disappointed with the founders’ ideals, and proud of man’s sinfulness.
Ben Shapiro, 39, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and co-founder of Daily Wire+. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author; his latest book is “The Authoritarian Moment: How The Left Weaponized America’s Institutions Against Dissent.” To find out more about Ben Shapiro and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
Liberals are not proud of America, because they are perpetually angry about things they perceive as being wrong with America.
They constantly complain about how unfair capitalism is, how we have original sins such as slavery, which have never been atoned for, etc.
They complain that we are despoiling the environment, even though the air and water are far cleaner than 50 years ago.
They complain that conservatives are racist, sexist, etc. as per Hillary’s screed.
They think every grievance group, from racial minorities to homosexuals, are somehow being oppressed, in spite of major changes in rights for such people in recent decades.
Their whole thought process is negative, in my opinion. They only talk about perceived wrongs about America, without any consideration given to what is right with America.
Regarding the polls, what does “proud of America” mean. I am proud of our founding. I am proud of the constitution. I am proud of much of our history. That said I am not proud of a country so saturated with vapid, ignorant, or evil people that it is capable of electing a dementia addled crook, involving itself unnecessarily in foreign conflicts, and mutilating children as a means to political power.
I don’t love what America has become.
People - on both sides of the aisle - confuse love of America with love of government.
My love for America never dipped when Clinton, Obama, Bidet, Dubya, Trump, Bush the elder stupid, Reagan, Carter’s, Ford, Nixon or any other loser occupied the Executive.
America is greater than the government. In many ways, America is an idea, that the individual comes before the collective.
That idea transcends politics, race, sex, religion, etc. This is why America stands alone, and why she is attacked daily.
I just read about some R&B artist changing the lyrics to the national anthem to bash America, bemoan racism, and throw the nation under the bus. I also read that she has homes in NJ and California, has had a great career, and continues playing live to many fans.
For every dolt like her, there are scores of folks like James Brown, who LOVED America and did actual works to make her better.
Keep in mind, even during the revolution, about 15-20% of the citizenry were Loyalists who yearned for British enslavement. Not much has changed in 250 years.
But we are still here. And we aren’t going away.
I have always been extremely proud of this country.
For allowing us, as citizens, to prosper, work, make money, buy food, clothes, shelter, and goods, and thereby live our large, middle class lives in prosperity and comfort without the overt intrusion of the government.
For allowing meritocracy to flourish via a captitalistic trade without being choked off (mostly, and even that is now in the past) by the goverment. For allowing things to work. Electricity and water to flow. Highways to be built. Law to be enforced. A meritocracy allowed those things, and that is also in the past.
And I am most grateful I was allowed the opportunity to serve my country in the military, not get killed in the process, and learn many things ranging from technical and work habits all the way up the government facilitating my further education through the GI Bill. That is a pathway that is laid for everyone in this country from the lowest origins to the highest. It was a purer form of meritocracy that allowed equal opportunity for all. And that is pretty much gone as well.
In all of this, I still love my country dearly, and await the day when we can begin climbing out of these holes dug for us by the people of all parties who now have their hands on the reins of power.
Love the country.
Hate the current government.
I wrote this some years ago.
Conservatives vs. Liberals
Conservatives say, “make America great again.”
Liberals say, “America was never great.”
Conservatives love the Fourth of July and celebrate it enthusiastically.
Liberals hate the Fourth of July and refuse to celebrate it.
Conservatives love the “Star-Spangled Banner” and want to keep it as our National Anthem.
Liberals hate the “Star-Spangled Banner” and want to replace it with the “Internationale.”
Conservatives know that life begins at conception.
Liberals believe life begins at birth.
Conservatives judge people as individuals.
Liberals judge people as members of groups—races, classes, etc.
Conservatives believe Islamic terrorism poses the greatest threat to America.
Liberals believe anthropogenic global warming poses the greatest threat to America.
Conservatives wave the flag.
Liberals burn the flag.
Conservatives say, “God bless America.”
Liberals say, “God damn America.”
Conservatives support the death penalty and oppose baby murder.
Liberals oppose the death penalty and support baby murder.
Conservatives see Communists as a threat.
Liberals see anti-Communists as a threat.
Conservatives support the Tea Party.
Liberals support Occupy Wall Street.
Conservatives want to fight crime by locking up criminals.
Liberals want to fight crime by disarming law-abiding citizens.
Conservatives believe that all viewpoints should be tolerated.
Liberals say, “no freedom of speech for fascists”—and “fascists” are all whose views are to the right of George McGovern.
Unfortunately, the quality of the American People has declined over the years.
In fact, those grievance groups are engaged in oppression. If we White Men were the monsters the grievance groups accuse us of being, the grievance groups would not exist.
Very well put..........
Love America, “our” government, not so much...
I agree. I don’t love what has/is becoming of America.
I was proud of America and joyfully volunteered to wear the uniform...back when America was still America. I don’t know what this amorphous borderless land mass is anymore but it sure as hell isn’t what I grew up in.
I was proud of America and joyfully volunteered to wear the uniform...back when America was still America. I don’t know what this amorphous borderless land mass is anymore but it sure as hell isn’t what I grew up in.
ping
“…there are scores of folks like James Brown, who LOVED America and did actual works to make her better.”
Folks should check out the James Brown songs, Living in America and Papa Don’t Take No Mess, reminiscent of an America that’s rapidly slipping away.
THAT, is a great American. And THAT is what’s under assault.
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