In his inaugural address, President Donald Trump unsurprisingly painted a bleak and inaccurate picture of America. I disavow it for it is the least patriotic inaugural address I’ve ever heard. In typical Trump fashion, it lacked nuance and oversimplified the complexities of our era. Ironically, patriotism was the word of the day. In his address, he essentially described America as a failing pile of garbage that has fallen from its former greatness. The word “patriotism” was used by Trump and his supporters frequently. But lest we forget, patriotism is defined as “the quality of being patriotic; vigorous support for one’s country.” It seems as if in Trump’s mind, there are several prerequisites to being vigorously supportive of one’s country and a limited number of avenues to do so.
Trump, the branding expert, attempted to rebrand patriotism by cloaking his overtly divisive, pandering rhetoric in the American flag. What’s the implicit meaning of patriotism in Trump’s America? From my time at the inauguration, I gleaned what it means to be an unquestioning supporter of Trump. This characteristic appeared to supersede any other identity than someone might possess. When I was walking around the National Mall, I saw a lot that I thought had been eradicated in this nation. I saw anti-Catholic, anti-Muslin and anti-immigrant signage and paraphernalia. Walking around, I struck up a conversation with a man who held a sign saying “Veterans against Trump.” During our conversation, Trump supporters yelled at him and called him a traitor. His identity as a Trump critic superseded his veteran status.
My experience at the inauguration reminded me of something my great-grandfather James Hagerty, press secretary to President Eisenhower, once said, “One day I sat thinking, almost in despair; a hand fell on my shoulder and a voice said reassuringly: cheer up, things could get worse. So I cheered up and, sure enough, things got worse.” Things did indeed get worse on Jan. 20. Violent protesters delegitimized the resistance movement with vandalism and arson, inflicting damage on my bright blue hometown.
I spent most of that day completely disillusioned. It felt like I was wandering around a parallel universe. For a day, my hometown was an unruly Trump rally that reeked of hot dogs and cigarettes. I went to the inauguration as a patriotic American who has a deep respect for public service. However, while I was there, it was apparent that I did not fit the definition of patriotism many in attendance subscribed to. While I was walking the District’s streets, I thought deeply about the legacy of my great-grandfather. He shaped the job of press secretary by being the first in his position to provide insight into the lifestyle of the president and in creating transparency by introducing cameras to the press office in 1955. He was a Republican, he was a patriot and if he was alive today he would be astonished by the lack of transparency in this emerging administration.
On Jan. 21, my faith was restored in America and my disillusionment subsided. I witnessed patriotism in its truest and realist form. I attended the Women’s March on Washington and my love for my country has never been stronger. Pink knit hats and positive vibes were in no short supply. With my hundreds of thousands of compatriots, I sang “God Bless America” and Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” accompanied by a marching band in matching hand-sewn uniforms. We danced, we laughed and we all knew a sleeping dragon had been awakened. Social media was the stadium for most of the vitriol in this campaign, but social media allowed this march to go viral. We sent a clear message to the corrupt Trump establishment that we are watching, we are organizing and we will be running. The year of 2018 will be “yuge.”
I love my country deeply because of our ability to come together in solidarity around our values of liberty and justice for all. Our laws are not infallible, nor are they always just or ensure that everyone is free from tyranny. However, I take solace in the notion that we are always striving to be better than we were yesterday. I am deeply disappointed in the fact that our ideals as a country have perhaps never fully translated into policy, but I love the possibility that they might. I’ve been fortunate enough to travel the world, and wherever I go, people say that the defining characteristic of Americans is our optimism. This is what makes us great, because make no mistake, we are great people. I cite the women’s march as proof. If Jan. 21 was any indication of our future, then we’re in an unprecedented age of civic engagement.
