Hyphenated America, Acc.to Identity-less Utopian Theorists
For the third week in a row, 30% of likely US voters say the country is heading in the right direction. (If the inverse is true, 70% believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.)
America has relinquished her title of “World Superpower” and carries on her march towards obsolescence; or if you will, her walk of shame or international perp walk, take your pick. What recourse is there for those of us who wish her to reverse course?
Insurmountable obstacles do block us. We hold little power in Washington. Those in power govern against the electorate with midnight passages of constitutionally questionable legislation (Obamacare), unconstitutional recess appointments (currently under Supreme Court review) and the aiding and abetting of enemy combatants (Syria, Egypt, Libya). What recourse could we possibly have?
Obsolescence must be repelled by adhering to a strong national identity. Only a strong identity can face and deter totalitarianism. And which national identity do we hold dear: the progressive American identity, which is founded upon virtues of selfishness and irresponsibility, or the American identity of our ancestry, one of opportunity, autonomy and refuge?
Out of many, one. Prosaic and quaint; an idea that went out of style with the arrival of LSD and bell-bottoms. Immigrants who flooded America adopted an American identity in addition to their ethnic one and turned it into what has been called American hyphenation: Irish-American, Italian-American, Polish-American, Jewish-American, Asian-American, and, although with much greater strain and centuries of persecution, African-American.
A hyphenated America denotes linkage; an interconnectedness. Natan Sharansky, former Soviet dissident turned social critic states, “the hyphen is a plus not a minus.” Adding –American is an augmentation to our traditions.
These days being American is defined as, “people who live in North America + Central America + South America = American.” Or the question of being American requires further clarification: “Which America are we talking about? The poor one or the rich one?” Then there is the consensual, “America stands for…greed and selfishness, ignorance and hatred, I got mine, I don’t care about you” – the consensus being, being American is nothing to aspire.
Over the past decade patriotism has been redefined counting protest and criticism of country as attributes. Popular culture tells us that one of the most patriotic things any American can do [is to] criticize it. Patriotism, in the classic sense, is something kitschy and corny – a decoration that should be displayed on the 4th and stored away on the 5th. Patriotism is a casualty in the long list of words confiscated by the radical left: constitutional, founding father, idealism.
Revisionists count these words as regressive and reactionary. Yet the “protest [should] not [be] against American ideals but against the failure to live up to them.”
Pop culture dictates that American ideals are a thing of the past – admirable concepts romanticized by L-7s – a fad that went away with crew cuts, bobby socks and Mary Janes. Anyone who calls for their return is scoffed and assailed with –er names: tea parti-er, right wing-er, deni-er.
Reclaiming national identity means having the strength to withstand verbal assaults. The truth of it’s not what you are called, but what you answer to extends beyond scope of civil rights but to all who affix stereotypes to silence dissent.
Identity-less utopian theorists perpetuate the fragmentation of the social order, using the divisive tools of racism and class warfare at their disposal. To them nothing of value in America remains. To post-nation-statists, the founding must be remedied, social justice exacted; America must break from her disreputable roots and move towards world citizenship. To do this, America must renounce her national identity and give up more than just a pinch of sovereignty to the international community.
Is it worth it? Is the promise of a monolithic existence free of class struggle, race and monetary worries worth the risk of renouncement? Do we reclaim our national identity or choose to live in a social order where we are told every identity is special? (Some being more special than others.)
Stay worthy my friends.
