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Karen Attiah: I still remember when my parents finally became naturalized in the ’90s, and my mother in particular really embraced what people think of as patriotism today. She was really interested in what it meant to be an American in American culture, in football and the Dallas Cowboys and NASCAR and country music. We also grew up as evangelical Christians in Texas, where patriotism is very closely tied to what it means to be a Christian.
I think the word “patriot” has come to symbolize a white male who is blindly defending America at all costs against any criticism, as opposed to an idea of ​​America where differences are celebrated and encouraged, and where people have the freedom to realize themselves. I think America has beautiful ideals, but I’m not sure patriotism is the way to reach those ideals.
Jason Rezaian: To me, being an American is not only an opportunity for self-actualization, but also an opportunity to interact with people from all over the world, and to do so in a way that embraces differences, not necessarily acknowledging them. To me, that’s what America is. You can’t say that America was made to be something else. I’ve experienced it in many forms throughout my life, although it’s definitely diminished in recent years. So, while I agree that in some places the concept of patriotism has morphed into something else, I don’t think that’s what it actually means. And I’m not going to let someone take what patriotism is and redefine it for me.
Theodore Johnson: To me, being an American is the only thing I can be. And I’m proud of who I am, how I was raised, the people who raised me, and the culture I’m a part of. So I’m very proud to be an American, and I don’t want to be anything else. On the issue of patriotism, I struggle with how uncritical patriotism is often.
It’s as if you’re patriotic because you think your country is perfect, or that your country is so special that other countries should get out of the way and shine the spotlight on America. I’m not that kind of patriot. I am a patriot who loves the country I was born in, the country I serve, the country I served in uniform in, but I also recognize that it falls so short. As a black man who has been stopped by the police over 40 times in 30 years of driving, I know where this country has work to do.
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