Patriotism and Progressivism

Abstract

Many Americans believe that the left is “anti-patriotic” (and even anti-American) whereas the political right truly expresses the American spirit and reveres its symbols. Particularly since the late 1960s-when the movement against U.S. intervention in Vietnam gained momentum-the terms “progressive” and “patriotism” have rarely been used in the same sentence, at least in the mainstream media. It has become conventional wisdom that conservatives wave the American flag while leftists burn it. Patriotic Americans display the flag on their homes; progressives turn it upside down to show contempt.Since the World Trade Center bombing on September 11, 2001, the U.S. has seen a dramatic increase in the number of Americans proudly displaying the Stars and Stripes on their cars, homes, businesses, T-shirts, caps, lapel pins and even tattoos, along with sales of CDs with patriotic songs. Retail stores have redesigned everything from coffee mugs to bikinis in red-white-and-blue. SinceSeptember 11, bills to make the Pledge of Allegiance mandatory in publicschools have been introduced in seven states; half the states already require it. On October 12, 2001, a month after the tragic event, a right-wing group based in Orange County—Celebration U.S.A., Inc.—enlisted President Bush and Secretary of Education Rod Paige to participate in a synchronized nationwide recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in schools across the country, a ritual that was repeated a year later. In October 2001, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 404 to 0 for a resolution encouraging the display of signs in public schools proclaiming “God Bless America.”This outpouring of flag waving signifies a variety of sentiments—from identification with the victims of the September 11 attacks to support for themilitary’s invasion of Afghanistan and, later, Iraq. But in U.S. popular culture, displays of the American flag are—along with the very idea of “patriotism”—-typically viewed as expressions of “conservative” politics. The patriotic fervor since September 11 has revitalized that belief and, as in other times, has given conservative politicos and pundits a handy means to undermine dissent and progressive initiatives.