The United States is 250 years old today. Compared to England, at 1,100 years old, the USA is actually quite young. It’s basically a teenager or twenty-something having a quarter-life crisis. It’s learning really hard lessons about how important accountability is (like the responsibility of voting) and how you shouldn’t take things for granted (like free speech).
I love my country. A month ago, on the eve of my UK naturalisation ceremony, I had a brief crisis of conscience when I questioned whether I was being disloyal to my home country by becoming a citizen of another. As a kid, I earnestly said the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school. I always place my hand over my heart (and take off my hat if I’m wearing one) when I hear the Star-Spangled Banner. I have volunteered to register voters over the past 25+ years and made phone calls to get out the vote.
Because I love my country, I’m also very sad for it right now. The decades-long efforts of the Christian Nationalists and the years-long chaos of MAGA have made the US a laughingstock, but also very untrustworthy and unstable. Living abroad gives me a nuanced view of our reputation. People do laugh. But they are also baffled, and they are pretty upset. I won’t review the overwhelming list of reasons why I’m anti-Trump (and anti-fascist), but they are probably the same as most others who lean to the left. The war in Iran has been devastating to the world economy, but there are so many other issues that showcase the lack of humanity being demonstrated right now.
I used to say I was proud to be American. But since learning about the Proud Boys, I don’t like to say it because of the connotation. They have weaponized pride in one’s country with their far-right, anti-immigrant, misogynist views. Today was Pride in the UK, and it was good to be reminded that the word also belongs to the LGBTQ+ movement for equality and love.
It has felt hopeless at times over the last couple of years. Is the great experiment of a democratic republic failing? Will America survive its turbulent youth? The truth is, America could have always been better, but better did not mean “great,” and making it great has made it worse. A more self-aware question is: will America recover from what Trump is doing so that it can then grow up to become better?
Right now, with the Supreme Court expanding the power of the Executive branch, Congress neither checking nor balancing the President’s actions, the First Amendment being challenged, and countless other abominations, it feels like the land of the free has changed too much. But I do have hope. There are good people who give me hope every day as they resist.
As I wish the USA a happy birthday today, I also wish for people to be brave and get through this phase. I wish for them to fight against MAGA and find common ground with those who admit they made a mistake when they voted for Trump (even though it was so obvious to the rest of us that he was awful). I wish for them to fight for their brothers and sisters whose rights are being trampled on and whose lives are being threatened. I wish for them to speak up and speak out against the immorality of the Trump Administration. Donald Trump, JD Vance, Mike Johnson, Pete Hegseth, Stephen Miller, and the rest of them are not who America is. They represent a dark phase, not the ingenuity or generosity or opportunity that the country has tried to embody.
The US is not alone in having to fight toxic nationalism and bigotry. It is happening
here in the UK too. I hope the UK is reflecting while it watches, because freedom truly is fragile.
Happy 4th of July to those in the US, and to those in the UK, Happy Pride.