The Ambivalence of the Fourth of July

The nation celebrates Independence Day as democracy is at a crossroads

Such is life in America in 2023: A weird, sometimes disorienting mix of normalcy and emergency, of acute crisis and moments of (performative?) business as usual.

In the midst of an escalating conflict over whether or not the democratic experiment should continue and finally live up to its promise, over who gets to define national identity, what “America” should be, and who even counts as “American,” how should the country celebrate its national holiday?

I am not here to troll, ridicule, or shame anyone whose answer is: like we always do! On the individual level, that’s totally fine. This is not a plea to shut down the parades, cancel the barbecue, and skip the fireworks. In a very fundamental way, such elements of normalcy are not only inevitable, but also essential as a survival strategy. The experiences of most people, even those who follow politics closely, tend to be shaped not just by the political upheavals, but by the normal joys and challenges of everyday life. We take the kids to school, we go to work, we meet friends, we suffer or celebrate with our favorite sports teams. Most of us continue the routines that dominate our daily lives, even during a political crisis around us. We have to function, we compartmentalize.

Patriotic rituals – the speeches, the parades, the fireworks – can also play an important role as affirmations of democracy: A chance for citizens to come together in the public square, joyful, peaceful, as not only individuals but also members of a collective they care about. We are meeting friends today who will take us to some Fourth of July festivities: I believe a local politician will give a speech, schoolchildren will read the Declaration of Independence, there will be a bike parade and barbecue afterwards. Despite the tropical heat, it should be fun!

And yet, a feeling of unease remains. Some of the dissonance I am perceiving today might be a result of my own socialization and national identity: Due to our disastrous experience with hyper-nationalism, Germans tend to struggle with patriotic parades.

But beyond my own sensibilities towards public displays of patriotism, there is something – for lack of a better word – “weird,” and maybe even disorienting at times, about celebrating Independence Day in the current political situation. Any kind of business as usual necessarily feels off in a situation that is clearly not “normal,” in the midst of an acute crisis of democracy and faced with an all-out assault on the post-1960s civil rights order, mere days after the Supreme Court aggressively turned the clock back yet again. Under such circumstances, patriotic rituals feel like an anesthetic that, while barely taking away the pain, only serves to mask the underlying condition and allows it to go untreated. There will undoubtedly be a lot of talk about what supposedly brings Americans together today – unity gospel based on a national mythology that does not hold up to serious scrutiny. It may even feel good in the moment. But when the parade is over, and the fireworks stop, democracy will still be in crisis.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that it is precisely the forces that are working hard to subvert democracy and the people supporting those who are leading the reactionary assault who will be celebrating the loudest today. They are celebrating their exclusive, discriminatory version of “real America,” they believe it’s their prerogative to define what it means to be a “patriot” in this country: Someone who is drunk on the idea of American superiority and aggressively defends the traditional order. Their disdain for the notion that all people are created equal is palpable, their political project is defined by their refusal to abandon discriminatory hierarchies of race, gender, and religion. “We are America, it is ours to rule” is their dogma.

Unsurprising, therefore, that those whose status as citizens of the United States has been conditional and depending on whether or not they would conform to this vision of America as a white Christian patriarchal nation – whose lives, possessions, and freedoms were regarded as expendable for much of the country’s history – have always tended to be reluctant to embrace the patriotic spectacle. Their perspective on the Fourth of July has displayed an acute awareness of the contrast between egalitarian ideals and the ideology of white freedom that have both shaped the American experiment since the canonical moment of its birth.

Once again, unfortunately, the proponents of a rightwing, reactionary “patriotism” have aggressively taken to the streets and are trying to dominate the public square. They understand that democracy depends on people feeling safe there. If they don’t, because it’s ruled by intimidation and violence, they won’t be able to participate as citizens. It is therefore crucial for people who believe in the ideal of America as a true democracy – a land that never has been yet, but might one day be – to go out and affirm their egalitarian ideals, assert their democratic patriotism against the reactionary vision.

But we have to make sure not to let the rituals of normalcy overwhelm the awareness of emergency, not to let the displays of patriotism ratify ideas of American grandeur and exceptionalism that ultimately provide cover for anti-democratic forces and their reactionary project.

Let’s embrace the unease, the dissonance – they are fully justified. And let’s work towards reclaiming an idea of “patriotism” that doesn’t entail an affirmation of American jingoism and visions of white Christian male dominance. America can do better. Democracy depends on it.