I spent the 4th of July at Knights Stadium watching baseball and fireworks with my family. Except for the fact that it was Sunday in South Carolina, which meant I couldn’t enjoy a cold beer with my hot dog, it was about as American a way as any to celebrate the holiday, even for an evil Liberal Democrat like me.
With fireworks exploding overhead, we listened to a somewhat ragged mix of patriotic tunes, ranging from traditional Sousa marches to John Mellencamp rural rock to country pop anthems. It was an eclectic mix that, in its disjointed way, was definitively American. Two of the songs (or at least snippets of each) that were a requisite part of the soundtrack were Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” and Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” They’re an interesting contrast.
“Born in the USA” gets misunderstood in its complexity. A poignant protest against war, its liberal tone highlights the exploitation of American veterans. It remains nonetheless inherently patriotic. “God Bless the USA” gets mired in its simplicity, wandering dangerously towards mindless jingoism. It’s unabashedly a rightwing anthem, but its underlying theme of patriotism crosses party lines. Despite this real contrast, you can’t seriously question either artist’s love of country. So why then has Brave New Patriotism become such an exclusive, unyielding holding of neo-conservatives, divided along those same lines?
President Bush has said that “either you are with us or you are with the terrorists,” a stance that has steadily regressed from the renunciation of terrorism to the revocation of dissent. Don Rumsfeld routinely questions the loyalty of anyone questioning his war plans. Dick Cheney challenges the integrity of anyone disputing his highly questionable integrity. Using fear and distortion as its rope, the Bush Administration has fostered an atmosphere of patriotic segregationism with big country Liberals as its Brave New Niggers.
During the fireworks finale, I thought about liberalism and patriotism and the upcoming elections. And a Langston Hughes poem: “Sure, call me any ugly name you choose / The steel of freedom does not stain. / From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives / We must take back our land again / America!”
This article appears in Jul 14-20, 2004.
