Patriotism or Politics?

The current climate of politics has grasped the world’s attention unlike any time before. What the forefathers of this nation had in mind for the future of the United States would undoubtedly be surprising to them if they could witness it today.

Whether it be the advances in technology and today’s military, the evolvement in racial diversity in business and politics or to know the country would eventually go on to be arguably the greatest superpower in the world, the landscape would be a sight to behold.

But are we headed in a direction that benefits the country more than exploits it? Is the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, what millions of soldiers, police officers and everyday citizens pledge their undying loyalty to, outdated? Should it be revised in order to account for the need to stay a world superpower?

We are familiar with the emphasis of “following the letter of the law”, however we are also familiar with the majority considering individuals as sounding very naïve by doing so.

Fast forward, today’s politics has remained a solid two-tier system in which the country’s basic needs and the ideology of the majority demographic can both be addressed. The only difference now being that diversity can swing an entire election, changing a decades long state from one color to the other given the right candidate, and also be outright bought by obscene amounts of donation contributions with little oversight.

For centuries the United States has maintained the most impressive international public relations machine in history. We’ve successfully painted narratives to the world that have, in the minds of millions, justified our greatest historical atrocities in the name of greater economic control.

As a result, what most Americans still do not understand is that freedom simply is not free. The current systematic poisoning of our air, water and food supply, a well-organized prison for profit justice system and significant and consistent increases to the cost of living to name a few, are understood as ‘necessary’ sacrifices for GDP growth.

Regardless of which side of the political aisle you align with, you can spot egregious flaws within the policies of the party. But the more distractions and individual financial opportunities one has, the easier it is to simply go along with the system in place. The middle class is consistently shrinking in order to further indulge the wealthiest Americans and foreign business interests from the general public. Given some of their obvious flaws regarding race, was this, however, what the founding fathers had in mind for the growth and service of the nation? Maybe.

What continues to plague American society is the constant fueling of mass division based on race and class while expressing to the world an equal society. Our definition of criminal, terrorist, patriotism, for example, has been emphasized by the identity of the individual(s) more than the act itself.

There was a stark contrast in the consequences attributed to the immigrants having their children intentionally separated from them upon their illegal entry across the border, and the terroristic insurrection upon the nation’s capital on Jan. 6th that resulted in the death of multiple law enforcement officials. Surprisingly, there was no argument on how the outcome would have been different if the races were reversed.

However, there was a catalyst that lead to what we’re seeing in the current climate. The events that took place in just the last decade and a half changed the landscape of American politics as we know it, and likely forever going forward. And it was directly due to two back-to-back presidential elections.

First, the election of the first black president in 2008, Barak Obama. It’s fair to say, that by repeated national media questions such as, “Is America ready for a black president?”, that it was made clear that the racial maturity of white America was indirectly being called into question in the nicest way possible.

It is also fair to say that nobody in that decade or the present, expected to see a black president in their lifetime, which continued to challenge the narrative that, “America has come a long way”. It still has not come nearly far enough in the eyes of so many millions.

And regardless of any disagreement with Obama’s policies, the Democratic party in general or just a simple disdain of seeing a black face in the oval office, it was clear that Obama was a candidate who carried himself with class and dignity throughout his two terms. Similar to a number of presidents before him. This caused a strong ripple through the nation.

Then came the following president, Donald Trump, who not only was the complete opposite in nearly every way but carried himself in a manner no president before him had ever dared to do, ushering in a new wave of politics. Two unprecedented extremes back-to-back for the American people to process.

He won the election with absolutely no experience in holding any political office, or even a family history in politics. He went from a real estate investor to a reality tv show host, to the presidency of a global superpower. Unheard of in American history.

This particular trend first began with Ross Perot in the 1992 presidential election, although he ran as an independent. He certainly was not an establishment candidate, proving it by spending well over $50 million of his own money. By doing so he was able to make a respectable impact on voters. But Trump perfected this approach.

So, is it genuinely a surprise that he carried himself in such an entitled manner while campaigning and finally once in office, that his actions resulted in multiple offensive sound bites bordering on racism and a variety of physical assaults, seemingly uninformed on the very policies he ran his campaign on and was eventually indicted on suspicion of criminal activity during and post presidency?

Yet his support among tens of millions of Americans from the wealthy to the impoverished has not only sustained his popularity, but grew it. And to his credit, he has never hid his true character or wavered on his stances. He still boldly speaks his truth, ensures to cater to his base and makes it clear what his agenda is as he prepares another run for the oval office. Truly like a scene out of a movie.

When it comes to politics and grabs for power, these chain of events could obviously lead many to think that the symbolism of the traditional salute to the flag out of traditional reference, is gradually turning into something different. Still, the approach of a Donald Trump in itself is all that a constituency can ask of a candidate of any office, a rare commodity called honesty.

What should be more called into question is the reflection of the society that supports this sort of international representation. Because it reflects their own hypocrisy regarding basic characteristics they emphasize they want in a candidate such as class and diplomacy, instead of gladly accepting the opposite.

With a vastly diverse military, police force, medical industry and personnel within corporate American society, it is very difficult to satisfy so many and still steer in one direction for a nation with so much influence and potential. Yet it is fair to say, that an overwhelming majority of U.S. citizens agree that the security and further development of this nation for the purpose of benefiting and protecting its citizens overall should be priority. We just seem to be vastly divisive about how to achieve it.

There are countless continuing lawsuits, corporate Human Resources violations and public and private instances of racial outrage due to preferential treatment because many people still naively buy into the narrative that America is a nation that realistically it has not yet evolved into. At its root, we are still a country that is strategic in who it prefers to serve, and who it was designed to entitle and elevate with international potential.

From the beginning, our answer to solving these national and local problems were appointing representatives of the people. Credible leaders of men and women with strategic ideas that can lead to the results we want.

But what is it that we can fundamentally agree on that actually puts our politicians to work, and hold them accountable where we can expect those results?

What do the American people truly consider valuable enough and equally important where they are willing to support it regardless of race or religious doctrine?

Is it affordable healthcare, or second amendment rights that are responsibly enforced? Or how about the security of more blue-collar jobs, in particular amidst the rise of AI technology? What about actual cures to the second leading cause of death in the nation, Cancer, as opposed to every chemically enhanced pharmaceutical known to man?

Or, maybe dog whistle distractions such as CRT and the removal of authentic materials of American history from our schools is the key?

Ironic how these types of decisions are made with such ease seeing as how the Department of Education was only created less than 25 years ago. To this day it has the least amount of staff of any of the cabinet agencies.

Our division has always been the nation’s achilles heel, creating careers for opportunistic politicians.

So, to the original question, based on what we’re seeing in today’s politics and the direction that America is inevitably headed, what would the founding fathers of America likely think? Probably more so than not, satisfaction that control of such a powerful nation is still in the hands of the people they intended to be in for centuries to come, regardless of patriotism for the greater good.