On patriotism

The Fourth of July fell in a funny spot this year—Wednesday, right smack in the middle of the work week, between the first two weekends of July. Nevertheless, red, white and blue flags are flying on porches and places of business, and celebrations have taken place last weekend, on Wednesday the Fourth, and are planned for the weekend upcoming. Last weekend, traffic on the roads was horrendous and the heat was wicked. But now, the weather has settled into sunny days and cool nights with air so fresh and sparkling it seems like it could be bottled and sold.

As a child of the 60’s, I came of age at a time when patriotism was very unfashionable. The slogan back then spoken by patriotic sorts was “My country, love it or leave it,” which was perhaps more of a defensive reaction to 60’s radicalism and the anti-Viet Nam War movement than it was expressing a thoughtful dedication to the nation and democracy. The radicalism of that time was a good thing in that it opened up a vein of questioning and forthright discussion in a country landlocked by the conservative 50’s, where the cocktail of prosperity and fear (born of The Depression and WW II) created a mood of extreme conformity and denial.

However, the 60’s radicalism existed in black and white—fueled by young people who were not yet seasoned by time or tempered by experience, who had not learned compassion, or to respect others, or when to hold their tongues. In those days, my sense of patriotism was stirred in a paradoxical way when we marched on Washington or took over the science building at my New England college. Even then, my blood stirred at the notion that I lived in a country where I could do such acts and not be immediately shoved against a wall and shot, or imprisoned forever. And the passion of my fellow protestors was inspiring. They were deep thinkers, and they cared about the issues they were protesting against… civil rights, the war on poverty, the fight against racism. I was proud to be among their ranks, proud to be… well… American.

But patriotism is not an emotion that I have felt often, then or now. The most patriotic I have felt in recent years was during Morning Program at the Narrowsburg Elementary School, where the children daily sing patriotic songs. Once, when my daughter was in fourth grade, my mother attended, and I noticed she knew the second verse of even the more obscure songs. I looked closer and noticed a tear in her eye, which brought a tear to mine.

Another patriotic moment was standing with my brother in his Denver, Colorado office while twilight darkened the distant peaks. He pointed to them and said, “There is the purple mountain majesty. Can you feel it?” I could.

It is easier now to see our country with more clarity, to understand that it is a nation capable both of acts of generosity and oppression. We are pledging millions of dollars to an ailing Yugoslavia, yet we have for the last decade waged war on the citizens of Iran with our economic boycott, a policy that has only strengthened its leader as it has demoralized, sickened and killed its population.

With respect to environmental issues, however, I fear we are getting badly left behind. We are a huge, land-rich nation, which has perhaps created a false sense of complacency. We think: it’s all right to drill in the Alaskan wilderness for oil; the habitat there is not crucial to our survival. We think: so what if the rain forests are diminished—surely they will not totally disappear, and anyway, what does that have to do with us?

In smaller countries in Europe and elsewhere, this is not the case. Their land is gone. Wilderness is, in large part, a thing of the past. We Americans must begin to think globally and see that the health of the planet is our very survival. We cannot afford to stay within our borders on this issue. A lot of bad decisions are being made now, both locally and globally. We are of the mindset that if you don’t see it, it is not a problem. But the earth is out of balance, and what we don’t see is every bit as important as what we do see.

A recent study in The New York Times showed that Americans care about the environment, and for the most part they disagree with the President that economics should come first.  Surely we can rise to the occasion, urging our leaders to do the same, and as Americans begin to vision how to halt the desecration of our nation and our earth itself. Perhaps the new slogan could be: “My country, love it or lose it.”

Mary Greene, Associate Editor