As we Americans sit watching our soldiers die in wars that might have been prevented years ago and our economy faces the greatest deficit in history with no sign of getting better any time soon, it’s important that we not take the problems we see with our government policies to mean that the U.S.has somehow failed as a country.
This country is going through a hard time, as it has several times throughout its long and varied history. It probably will again.
Have we made mistakes?
Yes, of course we have; we are humans. There is not a nation on this earth that does not have something shameful in its past. Bloody revolutions, holy wars and mass genocides haunt every group of people who have ever called themselves a country.
We are quick to forgive and forget the shortcomings of the nations around us. Why shouldn’t we do the same for ourselves?
The moments the U.S. fails to completely live up to its ideals of freedom, equality, democracy are just that — moments. Our “way of life” is not our laws, policies or even our history.
Rather, it is all these things and so much more. It is our faith in democracy.
People acting together will ultimately choose good over evil, fairness over oppression. It is our belief in helping those who are suffering and our continued hope the actions we take will be the right ones.
Sometimes these very qualities get us into trouble. Sometimes we make the wrong choice. We give aid to those we shouldn’t and fail to support those who desperately need it.
These times are unfortunate but they don’t change the fact we have the power to make the world a better and freer place.
This is a fact we should be proud of; a reality we’ll do anything to defend.
Apologize for our actions when they are wrong? Of course. Apologize for who we are? Never.
It is important for us to acknowledge all the embarrassing, awful things we have done in the past and try to make amends. It is equally important we move on and not let ourselves believe we are somehow permanently flawed or tainted.
We make amends, we move on and we try to do better in the future. We’ve already proven we can. Two hundred years ago, large numbers of people were treated as property. A hundred years ago, half the population couldn’t vote or keep their wages. Fifty years ago, innocent citizens were being blacklisted for their politics.
Our country did those things. But our country also declared those things were wrong. We’ve had protests, court cases and demonstrations. When our core beliefs clashed with our national policy, we have fixed it.
That’s the way democracy works. In a system that relies on the choices of millions of people, mistakes are going to happen. When the crisis is over and the problem is solved, there is nothing left to feel embarrassed about.
We can chalk it up to experience and move on, proud of ourselves for having the courage to change what we felt was wrong and proud that we live in a country we can improve when we need to.
So let’s stop with “America is bad,” people. That’s not true. As cliché as it is, America is pretty darn awesome.
Click here to read The Daily's Jerod Coker's take on nationalism
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sarah 2 years, 3 months ago
I see your larger point, Ms. Skupin, but am unconvinced by most of your arguments nonetheless. I think it would help you to use specific examples rather than relying solely on generalities.
"a country we can improve when we need to"...
This sounds a bit flippant when one examines the experiences of the people who lived through the "improvements" you are talking about, as if social change happens as an afterthought, like correcting a spelling error.
Let's not forget that many people struggled long and hard and gave their lives to fight for change in some of the social changes you mentioned, and did so against the laws, policies, and history that did in very real and tangible ways dictate their way of life.
If our "way of life" is not our laws, policies, and history, but so much more... what? Our faith in democracy... but this has much to do with our political system that would seem to fall close by laws and policies, our attitudes about politics.
And what else? What is our "way of life," "who we are" that we should not apologize for? One aspect of our "way of life" that comes to mind that we should apologize for is our exorbitant and disproportionate consumption of the earth's resources, both finite and renewable... we have work yet to do, things that need fixin'.
"When the crisis is over and the problem is solved, there is nothing left to feel embarrassed about."
I think it's important to remember that when such massive "problems" such as slavery exist in a society, the damage done almost always lingers for generations. After Lincoln "solved" the slavery issue, should southerners have been "embarrassed" about the Jim Crow laws that sprang up to replace the old system of oppression?
I think we do have some things to be embarrassed about. Sure, women can vote, but what about representation in our government (still mostly old white dudes last time I checked), what about equal pay for equal work, what about the staggering amounts of domestic violence and sexual abuse suffered by women? That's certainly embarrassing. People of color in this country still have less access to education, health care, have a much higher chance of living in poverty and still, yes, still, suffer from racial discrimination in many ways. Racism has not been "solved," neither has sexism. We should be embarrassed about that, indeed, abuse of other human beings is shameful, the fact that it continues is shameful. Oh how recent, Abu Ghraib...
Perhaps we can take away from your article a sentiment of "lets be positive about the worth and future of our country." Certainly, there is always a danger of being paralyzed by guilt. Still, I'd prefer to leave behind the attitude of defensive complacency and move forward instead with an attitude of constructive, informed criticism.
Flips88 2 years, 3 months ago
This article is terribly superficial and ends on a note sounding like Sarah Palin, which despite what many Oklahomans may think, is not a compliment.
"There is not a nation on this earth that does not have something shameful in its past." This is essentially irrelevant. Saying that other countries have also done egregious acts makes us no less morally culpable for our transgression. If everyone were to be shoplifters, it would still make you a thief regardless of the crime's popularity or frequency.
"People acting together will ultimately choose good over evil, fairness over oppression." Here history refutes you. It was the will of the people that african slaves being treated as chattel, a right that the masses loved so much that half the country tried to secede to maintain it. It was the will of the people that black Americans and white Americans continue to attend separate schools, use separate water fountains, and not intermarry. Even today, it is the will of the masses that same-sex couples be denied the right to marry. Prop 8 passed in California: Democracy (and bigotry) at work! I guess you do use the word "ultimately," but I feel somewhat irked by the fact that is took us nearly 200 years to ensure everyone's right to vote.
I also find it odd that you ask for a citizen to be patriotic to their country, when it is that country which they often must protest and revolt against to further progress. Patriotism and nationalism alike are the sources of the shame in our past. It is the belief that a nation is infallible that leads to oppression and violence. It was blind allegiance that lead us into the debacles in Vietnam and Iraq.
As Howard Zinn, who sadly passed away last week, wrote, "Should we not begin to redefine patriotism? We need to expand it beyond that narrow nationalism which has caused so much death and suffering. If national boundaries should not be obstacles to trade - we call it globalization - should they also not be obstacles to compassion and generosity?...Tom Paine used the word "patriot" to describe the rebels resisting imperial rule. He also enlarged the idea of patriotism when he said: 'My country is the world. My countrymen are mankind.'"
American has indeed done a lot of monumentally good things in its history. It helped defeat fascism in Europe, it's pushed mankind to the moon and beyond, and has created some of the greatest political documents in human history. It also, however, has been the source of needless wars, racism, sexism, and massive inequality. You cannot build a brighter future while censoring your past. We must remember the dark so that we know why we move towards the light. So maybe "America is bad" is not necessarily warranted, but "American, get your stuff together" may be.
TheAntiTrevorClark 2 years, 3 months ago
I agree with flips88 and would like to point out a contradiction in this article.
"People acting together will ultimately choose good over evil, fairness over oppression."
"In a system that relies on the choices of millions of people, mistakes are going to happen."
These are drastically different viewpoints, especially considering they're coming from the same person.