The World Is in Love with America Right Now
(Some Americans did not get the memo.)
A funny thing happened on the way to the World Cup.
It seems as if the entire world has rediscovered America—and it likes it. I am not even making that up. Australians are going bananas over Buc-ee’s. Irishmen are reviewing Walmart like it’s the Louvre. The Scots have invaded Boston, where they’re packing pubs and exuberantly belting out The Star-Spangled Banner. Every word. Not mumbling along. Not politely standing there. Not crooning their own flag-waving favorites. They’re singing our national anthem like it belongs to them. I’d be shocked if I have five readers who could perform Flower of Scotland or Das Deutschlandlied flawlessly, tipsy or otherwise.
Meanwhile, Japanese fans are so happy to be here that they’re staying behind to clean the stadiums before they leave—showing more respect for the venue than many Americans seem willing to show for their own country. Europeans from every corner of the continent are sharing gushing tributes to American hospitality, American sports culture, American gas stations, canned cheese, Costco hot dogs, local customs, and a million other things we take for granted on the daily. They’re flooding our feeds with visions of what America looks like to hordes of outsiders: abundant, welcoming, free, worth celebrating.
If you only listened to our own media, you’d never know any of this.
We’ve spent the better part of a decade being told America is uniquely awful. Hopelessly divided. Irredeemably racist. A global punchline. Our history is shameful. Our flag is controversial. Our anthem is offensive. Loving your country has somehow become something you’re expected to immediately apologize for if you’re going to have the audacity to say it out loud. Other people loving our country? Oh, that doesn’t happen.
I know that many of my readers consider themselves proud patriots and feel no shame in openly championing our imperfect homeland. Most have lived or spent enough time abroad to realize that every place has potholes, politicians, and people who are convinced their system is rigged. I also realize there are some who believe America is a wildly corrupt, violence-riddled shill for Israel built on injustice and stolen land. (Yes, I read my comments.)
I’m not even saying they’re wrong. Is our history littered with shameful chapters? Too many to count. Is our present the epitome of what the Founding Fathers envisioned? Let’s just say they’d probably have a few notes. But criticism has somehow become our national pastime. Gratitude? Not so much. And if you can’t find anything to appreciate about the country that’s given you free speech, little lending libraries, and the ability to buy a kayak, a casket, and a rotisserie chicken at the same store, maybe the problem isn’t the country.
Because I think that’s the real divide. It’s not that one side thinks America is above criticism and the other doesn’t. It’s that one side is far more comfortable celebrating what we’ve gotten right, while the other seems hell-bent on cataloging everything we’ve ever gotten wrong.
It’s not even subtle. Fifty years ago, flying an American flag said, “I love my country.” Today, it basically says, “I’m MAGA.” We have teachers—actual people we entrust with the care of our children—bragging about removing American flags from classrooms and replacing them with pride flags and (different case) insisting that Old Glory—the one shrouded in rules and reverence—“stands for violence and menace and intolerance.” Yes, folks, people are out here looking at the Stars and Stripes and seeing a swastika. Is it any wonder a generation raised on that toxic messaging grew up associating their own flag with shame instead of sacrifice?
That’s an extraordinary cultural shift. And it didn’t happen because Republicans “stole” the flag (the way the LGBTQ+ crowd “stole” the rainbow). It happened because the flag literally represents American values—patriotism, freedom, opportunity, service, the Constitution—a laundry list the left routinely finds either offensive, oppressive, xenophobic, or only valid when it’s attached to a protest sign.
To much of the rest of the world, the American flag still means exactly what it’s always meant: Liberty. Optimism. Hope. Possibility. The land of the free and the home of the brave.
People don’t save for years to visit racist dystopias. They don’t immigrate to countries that are circling the drain. They don’t memorize another nation’s national anthem just to flatter the locals. They flock to places that are beautiful, welcoming, iconic, historic, adventurous, or otherwise unforgettable. Meanwhile, too many Americans have forgotten just how many of our international guests would trade permanent places with them in a proverbial heartbeat.
None of this means America is perfect. Even Pollyanna here realizes that it isn’t. We have real, profound, persistent problems. We have poverty and hunger and racism and crime and irredeemably crooked agencies, institutions, and public officials. Every nation does. Shangri-La isn’t a real place. But it’s striking that while so many Americans have been taught to view patriotism with suspicion, visitors keep showing up reminding us why the place was worth loving in the first place. The rest of the world appears to have skipped the “America Is Awful” tour, bless its heart.
I think that’s why the singing Brits have resonated with so many people. Because sometimes it takes hearing your own anthem belted out by a pub full of visitors to remember it’s actually a pretty powerful song about a pretty great country.
Maybe somebody should mention that to the Democrats.
A few years ago, I was driving through our neighborhood in western Massachusetts with my late mother, who then was in her 90s.
My dad and both of her brothers served in World War II and we always had the American flag flying in front of our home when I was growing up.
Anyway, Mom spent the better part of the last couple years with my sister and my brother-in-law down in Florida (Palm Beach - they called it “La La Land”.) It was pretty great, except my brother-in-law is very close friends with Elizabeth Warren. He gives generously to the Democratic Party and is a wonderful guy I love them very much but they go to all the Democratic fundraisers, etc. etc. and spout the Democrat dogma constantly.
Why do I bring this up? Back to my Mom - we were driving through our neighborhood. Somebody had a flag out and mom just grown and said, “Ugh - Trumper!”
I told her, “Mom - Dad and your brothers fought for America under that flag. Give it some respect!” She got mad at me, but at least she never said that again in my presence.
Loving America is sort of like a long time marriage huh? Do you like everything about your spouse? I'm confident you emphatically do not. Does the other partner feel the same? Boy howdy, you better believe they do. Do you both keep showing up every day and keep trying to make it better? If you got any sort of backbone and integrity you do because you made a promise to each other you intend to keep. Those who write this great wonderful experiment in democracy off are not loyal to its ideals and vision. Their loyalty is to a soft tyranny that controls your every interaction by taking your God given freedoms, and then charging you to get them back.
This was such a wonderful piece today Jenna. Thanks for reminding us that it is still great to be an American.