Republicans have always claimed to be the patriotic party, the party of "America, right or wrong," the party willing to use force to protect American national interests abroad, the party of a strong military. In response, Democrats have not really contested this perspective since Vietnam, basically ceding the patriotic badge to the Republicans.
But with the advent of Donald Trump, the Republican claim to patriotism has gotten broader and more troubling. Republicans now claim to be the party that is true to our founding principles. And it is not just the politicians; they have support from far-right scholars at the Heritage Foundation, such as Matthew Spalding. The Democratic Party has done nothing to counter these claims.
In 2004, I wrote the book "We Still Hold These Truths" to argue that all Democratic policies have been de facto based on the Declaration of Independence and that Democrats should have as their stated mission statement, the implementation of the promises of the Declaration.
More recently, I have written numerous articles that show the deceitfulness behind both Trump's and Spalding's positions. (See, "The Far-Right's Biggest Lie," "What Exactly Does 'All Men Are Created Equal' Mean in the Declaration of Independence," and "Countering Trump's Alternate Reality.") In each case, the principles or facts have either been conveniently edited to suit Republicans' perspective or have been turned on their head.
One way that Republicans seek to wrap themselves in the flag is to commit themselves to the flag, both through reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and by showing the flag outside their homes.
But what meaning does it have when MAGA adherents recite the Pledge? The Pledge has always been aspirational in that its description of our republic, while rooted partly in fact and partly in folklore, has never reflected the reality of our country.
When Trump and his supporters recite the Pledge, the words should stick in their throat: so opposite are the words to Trump's vision and thus their vision that even their rote recitation is duplicitous and has the effect of mockery. At best, it is an exercise in self-deception.
We all know the words of the Pledge: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Let's start from the end: "with liberty and justice for all." For the third of our fellow Americans who are either poor or people of color (the poor - 12.4%; people of color - 27%; half of those living in poverty are White, thus the total is roughly 33%), there has always been very little liberty and justice. After Trump was re-elected, his executive orders have made the outlook for the future even worse, as he has eliminated all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts by any organization or government receiving Federal funding.
Liberty means having the opportunity to pursue life, to pursue your dreams. But for this segment of our citizens, there is precious little opportunity, starting from the fact that they don't have true educational opportunity, and without that, there is no way forward.
Justice means both justice in courts of law and social justice—that people are treated fairly, with equality. While the courts may treat the poor and people of color fairly, they experience little social justice, both in that they suffer unequal treatment in many areas of government action, and in the fact that the enforcers of the law—the police—do not treat them with equality. Many Americans—Trump supporters—complain that the government favors the poor and people of color with its largesse. Yes, there are programs that focus on these groups, but on balance, they suffer discrimination at the hands of the government in many ways.
"Indivisible." Our country seems more deeply divided than at any time in our history, with the exception of the Civil War. In the past, regardless of regional or class differences, people felt that we were all Americans and all came together in moments of crisis. We were able to agree to disagree.
Today, because of Trump, that is no longer the case. The two almost equally divided halves of this country do not agree to disagree. Each side feels the other is traitorous and a danger to the country's future. There is frequent talk of civil war in the future. It is only because of the strength of Mike Pence's commitment to the Constitution that this country was not plunged into a constitutional crisis on January 6, 2020.
And what meaning does "one nation under God" have? It is true that 74% of Americans report that they believe in God. But what does that mean? Even in the "born again" Evangelical heyday, when kids wore wristbands that asked, "What would Jesus do?" believers did not act as Jesus would have acted. It was a sad farce. It would, unfortunately, be more accurate to say that, in reality, we are a God-less nation. That money and greed rule, not God.
We are a nation that has lost its way, even the imperfect way that we achieved in the 20th century. Even before Trump, our social fabric, our social contract, was coming undone. It started with Reagan. But under Trump's influence, half the nation has become the captive of what is, in reality, fake news. They have become believers of the "big lie" promoted by Trump. For them, there is no commonality with liberal Americans, people of color, or the poor.
Why has the Democratic Party been so silent as the meaning of America's founding documents, this country's values, has been deceitfully corrupted and appropriated by Trump and his MAGA allies? As I've said in other articles, the Democratic Party must take up the cudgel to argue that they are the party that is truest to the founding principles of our country; they must wrap themselves—deservedly so—in the flag; and they must explain to the people how Trump and his MAGA allies are destroying those very principles.
And they must show how this is not just a matter of philosophy; this has a very practical impact on the middle class, as well as people of color and the poor. Indeed, all the people, both those struggling and those who are rich, will be uplifted when the promises of the Declaration are implemented because everyone will benefit as the country benefits from the new prosperity of those who were formerly without. This is trickle-up economics, and its impact is real as opposed to the debunked trickle-down economics of the Republicans.
My feeling is that we—this country—will survive, that Trumpism will go the way of other aberrations as a new generation comes of age. America was once justifiably a light to other nations and the downtrodden of the world. It was never perfect, but it was a lot better than most places on Earth.
I hope that the day comes when America is once again both a light unto its own people as well as the rest of the world, and that the Pledge of Allegiance regains real meaning.
