It’s a not-so-happy 4th of July for me. Unlike in previous years, I didn’t host nor attend a 4th of July celebration. I’m not listening to patriotic music or hanging the flag outside. If I were to hang it, it would be hung upside down as a sign of distress. With conflicted emotions, I briefly watched the local fireworks display from my bedroom window. This 4th of July, I’m simply not proud of my nation. I’m patriotic for sure, but I feel our current condition is not worth celebrating. A few days ago, PBS, NPR and Marist released the results of a poll they took ahead of our 250th anniversary and they revealed some interesting results that are both disturbing and unclear as to the root of people’s responses.
First of all, I’m not at all surprised that 93% of Republicans say that they are proud to be Americans while only 45% of Democrats and 61% of Independents feel that way. The divide clearly indicates that Republicans are either ignoring the current corruption, cruelty, cowardice, and incompetence leading the nation or they believe the drastic rulings from the Supreme Court and the unfettered actions of the Trump administration are moving the country in their preferred direction. They detest our diversity, viewing it as a threat because they believe white “Christian” culture is being undermined or replaced. They despise the notion of fairness because they don’t think they should have to compete with women or outsiders for anything. And they view inclusion as outsiders and women trying to rob them of their rightful position of supremacy. With this viewpoint, it’s understandable that they feel proud that America is finally pushing back against the black and brown people, the gays and transgender, the religious minorities, and independent women who are demanding the rights and freedoms they believe is solely their birthright as white “Christian” men. On the 4th of July, 400 masked members of the white nationalist/white suprematist group, Patriot Front, grabbed headlines as they marched through D.C. clad in khakis and blue shirts, carrying both the American and Confederate flags and passing out leaflets that explain their anti-immigrant pro-white ideals.
The truly scary thing about the poll is that 58% of people under 30 believe that violence might be needed to set the country on the right path. I suspect the percentage is considerably higher among young men on both sides of the political spectrum. According to the poll, almost half of Americans believe that the country has strayed from its founding ideals and principles. I can see that being true. The problem is that liberals and conservatives can’t agree on which founding ideals and principles we should be pursuing.
Liberals cite the Declaration of Independence and the preamble to the Constitution as the aspirational direction of the country. We believe that the founders pointed us in the direction of all men being created equal and entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We believe they were purposeful in not establishing a state religion and proclaiming equal justice under the law. Although most of them were slave owners whose wives, daughters, mothers, aunts and sisters couldn’t vote, we believe they pointed the nation towards a future without slavery and towards equal rights for all Americans regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation or national origin.
On the other hand, the current Republican Party sees something entirely different. They see the founders as rich white Christian men who believed God favored them and handed this nation over to them. They believe white men conquered the natives by God’s divine favor as some kind of righteous, (not heinous) acts of violence against humanity. They believe in the supremacy and entitlement of white Christian men and that the spoils of this nation belong solely to them. They believe that God ordains the submission of women to men. They believe their ancestors came here legally (even though legal immigration wasn’t a thing for many years). They think that opening the country to non-white immigrants was a mistake. So, they agree with Trump that newcomers from “shithole” countries (non-white countries) should be expelled or encouraged to self-deport. Those people of color who remain and all women, should rightly be considered second class citizens who serve the national interest as they see it. That’s what these masked young men were marching in support of.
Donald Trump, Mike Johnson, Elon Musk, Steven Miller, and the Heritage Foundation are moving the nation in that direction. The stacked and corrupt conservative Supreme Court is helping them. They turned abortion rights over to the states. They granted Trump immunity from criminal prosecution. They allowed the racial profiling of ICE agents in their pursuit of undocumented people. They allowed Trump to revoke the protected status of Haitians and Syrians. They gave Trump the right to fire people from independent agencies without cause (except members of the Federal Reserve). They removed yet another obstacle to dark money in our political elections. They removed voting rights protections. They favored the rights of Christians over the religious or non-religious rights of others. And what should have been a unanimous decision on birthright citizenship based on the clear writing in the 14th Amendment was only a 6-3 decision upholding the citizenship of persons born in the United States.
The Supreme Court upheld counting mail-in ballots post-marked by election day because not doing so would disenfranchise military members and too many others unable to make it to the polls. They also seem to deny Trump’s decisions that could damage the economy such as tariffs and his ability to fire someone on the Board of the Federal Reserve. We all know that President Trump is illegally enriching himself and his family through insider trading, taking bribes, grifts like his meme coins, extortion, and no-bid contracts to his friends. But the Republicans and MAGA ignore his criminality and egomaniac behaviors because they see that through him, they have the opportunity to push the nation toward white “Christian” nationalism. Their hatred and fear of independent women and people who look and believe different from them drives their passion for Trump.
Just imagining what this country would be like if white Christian nationalists have their way is frightening. The civil rights, livelihoods, and future prospects of people of color, women, religious minorities, and the LGBTQ people would be turned upside down. I think those 58% of young people under 30 believe that their future is under threat and worth fighting for using violence if necessary. They have lives and futures to protect. A larger percentage are likely liberal, and a smaller portion are highly organized into groups like the Patriot Front. They are young white male suprematists and Nazi sympathizers who realize their current numbers, poor job preparation and mediocrity isn’t enough to compete with the growing numbers of more highly educated independent women, hard-working immigrants, academics, celebratory LGBTQ folks, and visibly talented black folks. The presidency of Barack Obama only solidified their insecurity. Instead of celebrating Obama’s integrity, brilliance, and competence, they felt threatened by him and his equally brilliant wife, Michelle Obama. The candidacies Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris were yet another signal that were losing control.
This fall, people who aspire to continue the nation’s pursuit of equality and justice for all must support candidates with our voices, our pocketbooks and our votes to replace the complicit and cowardly Republicans who are moving this nation away from liberty and justice for all towards liberty and justice solely for white males. However, this election goes, I fear there will be violence from young men in groups like the Patriot Front. The question is which ideals and principles our laws will favor moving forward.