Let's Celebrate America as a Multiracial Democracy
Discover more from Lucid
Let's Celebrate America as a Multiracial Democracy
A New Patriotism That Plays to Our Strengths as a Nation
The Declaration of Independence "sounds like a fairy tale," said Russian state television host Dmitry Kiselyov, engaging in the favorite Kremlin habit of mocking American democracy. In one way, Kiselyov's correct. Freedom, including freedom of the press, can only be fantasized about in autocracies such as Russia, which encourage collective dreams about national greatness but stifle, or co-opt for state aims, individual autonomy and initiative.
It is this freedom to dream, and the idea that it is possible to transform one's life and the destiny of one's family, that has distinguished America in the global imagination and made it a destination for millions of impoverished, oppressed, and ambitious individuals. The America of immigrants' aspirations was and is a place where everyone could find their community and everyone, in theory, could have a chance, with dizzying improvements in standards of living possible within the scope of one or two generations --- both for immigrants and for people born here, of every race and religion.
It is time to harness this sense of pride and potential, this ability to dream, and make them central to a new brand of patriotism that celebrates America’s multiracial character as a generative force.
When democracy is stable, talking about patriotism may appear unseemly. Patriotism is associated with flag-waving, saluting soldiers and defending "the American way of life" --- often code for defending the interests of White Christianity.
Yet when democracy is under attack, as it is today in America, talking about patriotism is essential. To make it appealing, we must find a new language, one that can mobilize new generations of voters and constituencies who may be wary of the military and not inclined to display the flag.
Creating passion and excitement around America explicitly as a multiracial democracy is one way in. It directly confronts the GOP's attempts to disenfranchise non-Whites, impose silence about past and present racial crimes, and engineer and enforce rule by a White minority.
Celebrating America as a multiracial democracy is also forward-looking and pragmatic. The latest census document, updated in 2020, confirms that the non-Hispanic White population is shrinking. People classified by the Census Bureau as belonging to "Two or More Races" are the fast-growing group, followed by Asians and Hispanics.
Faced with these changes in the American population, the GOP has chosen to retrench rather than reform. When shifting demographics are seen as an existential threat, being racist is twisted into a patriotic act. Nothing is off the table to save the country and reverse the course of history. The Jan. 6 coup attempt, in this light, was not just an operation to keep the right person in office (Donald Trump), but an attempt to keep the wrong people, like Vice President Kamala Harris, out.
"Sadly, the American dream is dead," pronounced Donald Trump at the start of a 2016 presidential campaign notable for its attacks on immigrants. He is out of office, but the GOP continues his work, cheered on by Moscow.
To counter this authoritarian agenda, we must explicitly associate patriotism with defense of democracy and highlight the stability and productivity of American multiracial society. The aspiration of freedom for everyone is no fairy tale. It reflects our best traditions and civil rights history. A patriotism devoted to protecting that can be powerful.
Let's Celebrate America as a Multiracial Democracy
Speaking about "immigrant's aspirations" are you aware that the Tenement Museum's old mission of celebrating immigration is considered racist?
An inspirational read that sadly is nothing more than the usual neoliberal nonsense cloaked in the tired and misleading trope of US “democratic” exceptionalism. A professor of history should know better.