Fwd: A Few Thoughts On Patriotism

[Peter Farruggio <pfarr@cal.berkeley.edu>]

A bit of Frederick Douglass' incisive (and prescient) speech.  Rings 
true for today, too, I think.


http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2927.html

On July 5, 1852, Douglass gave a speech at an event commemorating the 
signing of the Declaration of Independence, held at Rochester's 
Corinthian Hall. It was biting oratory, in which the speaker told his 
audience, "This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I 
must mourn." And he asked them, "Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, 
by asking me to speak to-day?"

Within the now-famous address is what historian Philip S. Foner has 
called "probably the most moving passage in all of Douglass' speeches."


What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day 
that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross 
injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, 
your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; 
your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sound of rejoicing are 
empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants brass fronted 
impudence; your shout of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your 
prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanks-givings, with all your 
religious parade and solemnity, are to him, mere bombast, fraud, 
deception, impiety, and hypocrisy -- a thin veil to cover up crimes 
which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on 
the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the 
people of the United States, at this very hour.



> A FEW THOUGHTS ON PATRIOTISM
>
> Webster's Dictionary and Thesaurus defines patriotism as "zealous 
> love of one's country."  As we approach the Fourth of July, a 
> national holiday, I have been contemplating the idea of patriotism 
> as defined here and instinctively reject the idea of having "zealous 
> love" for this country.
>
> Even as a child I felt that the national symbols and hymns were 
> forced upon me in school and did not really mean anything to me.  I 
> learned to mechanically remember the pledge of allegiance, national 
> anthem and the symbols of this country so that I would not get in 
> trouble or ridiculed in my classroom.
>
> As I grew older, phrases like, "liberty and justice for all," were 
> disconnected from my own experiences in my community.  As my 
> comprehension of national and world events expanded, I learned that 
> the words of major doctrines, such as the Declaration of 
> Independence and the U.S. Constitution, were meant for wealthy white 
> men, but not everyone else.
>
> Patriotism assumes that our society is homogenous, and is void of 
> any recognition of class, racial, ethnic and gender 
> differences.  U.S. imperialist aggression in Southeast Asia, Latin 
> America and the Middle East are invigorated by a sense of blind 
> patriotism, where Americans uncritically support whatever the U.S. 
> government wants.  Patriotism is a combination of vague ideals and 
> selective amnesia, which is rooted in ignorance.  In schools, from 
> the media and press, and official government reports we are fed a 
> distorted history, lies and heavy doses of propaganda.
>
> During the current invasion and occupation of Iraq, people finally 
> started to make the connection between the overwhelming propaganda 
> to justify an unjust invasion on the one hand and U.S. corporate 
> interests to control petroleum, and sack Iraq's economy by hiring 
> wealthy corporations to rebuild Iraq on the other.
>
> This questioning of the real interests of the Iraq invasion has 
> caused the Bush Administration to restrict democratic rights of U.S. 
> citizens and non-citizens.  Eavesdropping on people's email and 
> phone calls, to increasing suspicion of immigrants, to denying 
> people due-process under the law, based on ethnicity are all threats 
> to democracy in America.
>
> In my lifetime, the U.S. military and CIA have been involved in 
> invading Southeast Asia, Nicaragua, Panama, supported a successful 
> military coup in Chile, an unsuccessful coup in Venezuela (to name a 
> few) and countless other military actions in the world.
>
> Domestically, there is a long tradition of the U.S. military 
> attacking people for the benefit of the wealthy elite.  In addition 
> to the enslavement of Africans, genocide against Native Americans, 
> theft of Mexican territories, occupation of the Philippines, Guam, 
> Puerto Rico and other people's lands; the U.S. government has 
> attacked workers of all nationalities who fought for better working 
> conditions and the right to unionize; has kept women's status 
> economically and politically below men; has maintained a system of 
> hatred and bigotry against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and 
> transgendered persons; and people of color still are treated as 
> second class citizens culturally, politically and economically.
>
> Historically, every step of progress of this nation has benefited 
> the smallest, most elite sector of this society.  Oil barons, 
> industrialists, investment bankers, real estate giants, 
> agribusiness, Wall Street traders, corporate CEOs, weapons 
> manufacturers are the silent partners of this nation, who through 
> their wealth and influence, benefit from oppression and wars.
>
> How can one demonstrate "zealous love" for this tradition?  As an 
> American citizen, who is also a Native American and Chicano, I 
> prefer to celebrate the heroes who have resisted and opposed 
> oppression domestically and internationally.
>
> Instead, I honor African slaves who rebelled against slavery, and 
> white abolitionists who dedicated their lives to end the barbarism; 
> I celebrate the original people of this land who fought and resisted 
> genocide and the Mexicans who battled against a mighty military 
> force to defend their lands from a brutal annexation; I admire the 
> women who have tireless fought for women's rights to vote, for 
> reproductive choice and for equality; I honor Chinese, Japanese and 
> other Asian immigrants who have survived and resisted severe racism, 
> ostracism and unlawful incarceration; I celebrate civil rights and 
> human rights activists who marched, protested and fought for 
> equality in education, employment, housing and healthcare, and 
> expanded democracy; I honor people who strive to uncover the truth 
> about this nation and peace activists who protest in the streets to 
> let the world know that imperialist aggression is not supported by everyone.
>
> So, on the Fourth of July, I will not be a blindfolded flag waving 
> patriot.  I will honor and celebrate all the people who have fought 
> (and died) to defend people from oppression and who worked to expand 
> democracy in America.
>
> --Joe Navarro
>
>
>
> Click on Joe Navarro's Website: 
> http://www.geocities.com/poetajoe/Joe_Navarro.html
>
>
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