by Josh Farris – March 26, 2020
Hey folks! This is a continuation of my last post (see below). With the spread of COVID-19 resulting in everything from confusion to panic, I think it’s important for Americans to work as hard as we can towards unity. Unfortunately, many Americans feel like we’re more divided than ever, and that very well may be true. When faced with a national crisis, however, we’ve got to do better.
How does America fix her division? As Tennessee showed me in its response to the recent tornados (again, see below), it seems pretty simple: unity comes from claiming our American identity, sticking to that identity when challenged, and pointing back to it whenever we can. We need to encourage patriotism, or pride in America, even if its definition needs to be adjusted to ensure it includes every American. Patriotism wasn’t always equated so often with nationalism; it was the collective appreciation of the American identity.
The beliefs that all people are created equal, that we all should be free from tyranny, that we should have our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness protected, and that these truths are self-evident, have always been fundamental to the United States’ identity. These are the beliefs that make up our American spirit. Even if you personally don’t agree with them, your elected officials swear to uphold them, your military personnel swear to defend them, and Americans from the 18th century up until today have been shamed, jailed, and even killed for them.
It is true that these principles have not always extended to every American (see: slavery, suffrage, Japanese internments, civil rights, and more). In the midst of those egregious exceptions, however, leaders like Frederick Douglas, Susan B. Anthony, and MLK still believed in the American spirit. They argued, justly, that the American promise was not faulty in principle but rather in application. These values included every American, even if those in power did not deem every American applicable.
When national tragedy strikes, this identity has often become the forefront of our national discussion. After Pearl Harbor, our nation rallied together to support the war effort in unprecedented ways. After 9/11, it was tough to go more than 5 miles without seeing dozens of American flags and “proud to be an American” on front porches, billboards, and marquees. In 2001, our national identity was a given. With the exception of some heinous acts against the American Islamic community—propagated by fear and ignorance, not patriotism—Americans supported and protected each other, because “that’s just what Americans do.” Unfortunately, since then we have done a horrible job of articulating and defending this identity in the age of “Why?” and social media.
Now more than ever, in the face of a pandemic this generation of Americans has never seen, we must be shouting from the rooftops what makes us Americans and what that means for today. My generation and the generation after mine need more than “just ‘cuz,” we need “why.” Whether this is a good or a bad thing is a topic for lots of other books that have already been written, but the age of sticking up for each other simply because we’re Americans has passed; it’s just not enough anymore. We have to point back to our founding often, to the principles that originally set us apart. Everything we ask of each other can be brought back to those foundational principles. For example: why should we stay home? Because every single American, by nature of their humanity alone, has the right to life, and we have to do our part to protect that right.
When a crisis like the coronavirus hits, we need to take to the airwaves, homepages, and news feeds and encourage one another to act like Americans. We have to stop sharing material meant only for destruction—destruction of the president, of the Speaker of the House, of a foreign government, of the opposing party, you get the picture—and start sharing unifying messages of hope in our future. Not “just ‘cuz” or “because ‘Merica,” even though I love those reasons, but because we all believe that life is worth protecting. That liberty is worth supporting. And that the pursuit of happiness, for each and every individual in this country, is worth defending. This is enough reason why; this is what makes us Americans, and this is what Americans need to hear today.
Would you help me and stop sharing the bad and start sharing the good? It might just be that simple. On social media and in personal conversations, we can and must be better. Our world is divided enough without our help, so to fight this division—and this virus—let’s commit to doing our part to becoming the *United* States again, one step at a time. I believe in America just as much as I believe in Nashville; we can do this.
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Joshua is a son, husband, father, Air Force officer, and public policy enthusiast currently living in Montana with his wife and daughter. The views expressed in this post are his own and do not necessarily reflect the official views or positions of the Air Force or the Department of Defense.
Awesome article, Josh!