But nowadays, not everyone agrees that America is a “great” nation, deserving of respect. A significant number of prominent Democrats don’t think so. Pete Buttigieg says, “America was never as great as advertised.” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says, “America was never great.” Congressperson Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez laments that she “never experienced prosperity in her adult life” (a period of time that includes the Obama years). Former Attorney General Eric Holder asks sarcastically, “When do you think America was great?” Former First Lady Michelle Obama said that she had never been as proud of America as when her husband won the Presidential nomination. Her pride lasted the eight years of his administration, and since then she has expressed the opinion that we have reverted from greatness. Even President Trump, whose slogan “Make America Great Again” implies that America’s greatness has not been constant, may be guilty of selling America short.
To listen to the progressive left, America is a hotbed of racism, greed, corruption, oppression and injustice. No one can deny that instances of those type exist, but is it fair to judge a nation by its errors or defects? A patriot should not be blind to imperfections, but nor should he condemn his nation for its imperfections. It strikes us as odd that some of the same folks who damn America go out of their way to find good things to say about Communist nations (past and present) such as the Soviet Union, Cuba, North Vietnam, the People’s Republic of China, etc., or various repressive totalitarian hell-holes around the world. Almost any reasonable and open-minded view of the facts would have to lead to the conclusion that America, with its flaws and mistakes, is preferable and praiseworthy by comparison to those countries listed in the previous sentence; but sadly this is not the case in the eyes of the progressive left.
Patriotism is not nearly as universal as it once was, and perhaps that is because our critics have very high standards. The politically correct must condemn Kate Smith, heretofore a paragon of the best traits, because they have discovered that she sang a couple of songs with racist terminology 80-some years ago. They condemn Thomas Jefferson and James Madison for being slaveholders, Woodrow Wilson and Andrew Jackson for being racists, everyone who wore the uniform of the Confederacy for being a traitor; even though those facts were well-known during their lifetimes, and their contemporaries and subsequent generations had already taken those things into account and come to terms with them, not letting those conditions obliterate their achievements and contributions.
Under current opinion, no achievement of those people once thought “great” is enough to counteract their flaws; and therefore, surely any country that is “built” on such flaws cannot be defined as “great.” This is not merely a matter of occasional political hyperbole common to Democrats and Republicans alike. This goes deeper into academia and communications, where being an iconoclast is of greater currency than loving one’s country, and where the instinctive patriotism that we once took for granted as a positive quality is seen as outdated, quaint and misplaced. Americans have the freedom to “take a knee” instead of standing for our National Anthem; but wherefore would anyone who loves his country want to disrespect it so?
America truly is a great country. It has always been a great country. It can be a greater country. But it never can be a perfect country, and it can never have flawless leaders, and it always will make mistakes, even as it strives to promote peace, freedom, justice, and liberty here and everywhere else. The Nazi and the Fascist and the Communist and the Jihadist and the totalitarian countries don’t even pretend to promote those things; but for some strange reason there is never a shortage of American intellectuals who will fall over themselves to praise those places even as they condemn their own country. Too many people see socialism as an idea that will work, if given enough chances – even though there is no evidence for it; yet sees our free-market democratic republic as a contemptible failure even though its record of success and progress is clear.
The exaggerations of politicians will be with us always, and generally are overcome by reality (or a successful election); but the willful distortions of intellectuals cause permanent harm to our national character. Let’s not ignore America’s flaws, but let’s reject the philosophy that concentrates on destroying our institutions and our heritage. It is never wrong or quaint or outdated to wave the flag or to stand for the National Anthem. America has plenty of critics. It needs more defenders.