I am a patriotic American. I feel great pride when I hear the National Anthem or “America the Beautiful.” Watching the video of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” being sung in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London after the 9/11 attacks brings tears to my eyes at the respect that the British government showed the United States and its citizens:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmpo0csiIMs&list=RDrmpo0csiIMs&start_radio=1 (beginning at 1:30).
Certainly the United States is far from perfect. No country or human institution is. Yet, I wonder what has caused so many citizens to blindly support Trump and the hateful and cruel policies that objectify people and threaten the welfare of the nation, all under the silly slogan of Make America Great Again. When I follow the news about what is happening in America, I am reminded of the title of a novel by the South African Alan Paton, “Cry the Beloved Country.” I weep for my country in these troubled, divisive times.
I attended the No Kings Day demonstration here on June 14 as a protest against Trump, his administration flunkies, his policies of hate and division, and his MAGA enablers. Due to the heat, Tucson had an organized “Motor March” where drivers followed a set route of twelve or thirteen miles circling part of the city, with their cars sporting anti-Trump/MAGA signs and other decorations. Along the route were several rally points where people stood with signs. I was at one. The temperature was 106 when I arrived at 2:30 and 109 when I went home two and a half hours later. Despite the heat, there were at least a hundred people at that location. I was proud to be there as a patriot.
The entire time I was present, there was an unbroken line of cars in the passing parade. The demonstration was encouraging, particularly the number of cars and the energy of everyone there. One guy drove up near where I was holding my sign and handed out Starbucks coffee cards to about ten of us. I saw only three pro-Trump drivers in the entire time.
I am attaching a photo of me with the sign I made and carried for most of the time. In addition to the sign, I also brought the flag I received from the Veterans Administration 33 years ago that was used to cover my father’s coffin. I thought it would be not only an appropriate statement of my love of the country but also a way to honor the memory of my father. The flag is about eight feet long, though, and heavy, so I could not manage it by myself. A friend of mine, who accepted the invitation I sent to my acquaintances here in Tucson to join me, helped hold the flag until a breeze came up about the time he had to leave.
I went to the demonstration because I believe Make American Great Again is not only a simplistic and silly slogan but also just plain wrong. When I see the word “Again,” I wonder what specifically MAGA supporters mean. When was America great?
Was it before the passage of the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act in the mid-1960s?
Was it before Medicare became law at about the same time?
Was it before the Brown vs. Board of Education decision that threw out the separate but equal policies in public education institutions?
Was it before women obtained the right to vote with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920?
Was it before the abolition of slavery in 1863?
Was it when Jim Crow laws across the nation allowed local governments to discriminate against African Americans?
Was it before polio vaccines virtually eliminated a horrific disease that disabled and killed many in this country?
Was it before food safety laws reduced food-borne illnesses?
Was it when the KKK wreaked terror across the country well into the 20th century, including lynchings as recently as the 1930s?
Was it before President Truman ordered the integration of the military in 1948?
Was it before the passage of the first federal minimum wage law in 1938?
Was it before there were child labor laws?
Was it before the passage of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act were enacted in the 1970s to reduce air and water pollution and protect public health and the environment?
I can understand how some people could initially have supported Trump and self-identified MAGA candidates out of partisan loyalty or due to frustration with the state of the country or their own lot in life. What I don’t understand is how anyone who follows the news could continue to support him. What is wrong with their moral compass?
I am proud to be an American, but I am aware of the dark aspects of the nation’s history. I am aware of the violence done to African Americans, Native Americans, immigrants, women, and children. I am aware of the violence done to the natural world and to our communities due to lack of environmental regulations regarding logging, mining, and air and water pollution. I wonder how the MAGA crowd in their red hats and cult-like support of Trump could be ignorant of that history and want somehow to return to those times.
Yes, I am a proud American. I am a true patriot, not in the sense of making American great again, but in a belief in the possibility of what America could be, a nation whose leaders promote qualities like mercy, compassion, tolerance, civility, and simple decency to guide government policy, a nation whose citizens acknowledge its flaws now and in the past and strive to overcome them by their actions and their votes.
The motto of the nation is E pluribus unum, out of many one, based on the idea of 13 colonies coming together as one nation. I extend it to the idea of a nation of people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, and political views coming together as one society based on those qualities. That is what would make America great.
