The striker on the equality of citizenship can break the foundations of national pride.
Not long ago, the fourth of July was a festive occasion: the Day of National Celebration, Hot Dogs and Paradise, praising flags and fireworks. John Uptiike remembered the traditional July 4th holiday Rabbit at rest (1990), Last Roman His trilogy of his rabbit. In this novel “Antigero”, Harry “Rabbit”, a former star of basketball in a high school, which is now in its mad and restless middle -aged, dresses like Uncle Sam for advice in his hometown Pivovar Pennsylvania (subtly disguised as a real reading). His fake beard, which worries the scotch, inspects the American crowd, assembled in patriotic hobbies:
Belovalous women sit in aluminum lawns, which are down at the curb, dressed as thick babies in checks and excesses, their shapeless bicycle pantry feet cheerfully. Middle -aged men squeezed their hips in a bicycle intended for boys. Young mothers came from their back yard above the pool platform in bikini and high -performance spandex turns that leave half of your buttocks and breasts.
Like Angstrom, celebrations are imperfect and evoke their own private anxiety, but also the beneficiaries of the country, which allowed them in a small way to enjoy the Jeffersian promise for happiness. Constipation, despite its physical reduction, Angstrom has epiphany: “Harry’s eyes were burning and impressed brazenly – when he was lifted to look through the history of mankind – he grows on his heart, making his heart worse and worse, that all is the happiest fucking country that the world has seen.”
Of course, the Jeffersian dream of freedom was never shared alike and was really stolen. Depending on the triumphalist solemn Classic 1852“What about the slave, the fourth July?” In words that can never forget, Douglas reminded the world that for the enslaved patriotic holiday and citizenship was worse than meaningless – it was a soulless lie, paid for their suffering.
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The abolition of slavery did not end with the sting and relevance of the words of Douglas. In 2025 in America there is a president that leaves hell Place the principle of national law rightOne of the great achievements of the reconstruction that Douglas fought so hard to consolidate in the 14th correction.
In America, Donald Trump, the harsh criticism of Douglas patriotic illusions is true than Pain Updike to “a happy fucking country that he saw in the world.”
Polls record an increasingly pessimistic national mood. According to the gallop, Only 31 percent of Americans I feel that the country is moving in the right direction. In addition, Gallup records that the national honor is now on “new low”. But 58 percent of Americans Tell me that they are extremely proud or are very proud of their country. (This is reduced by 91 percent in 2004.) This number is 38 percent among the independent ones – 53 percent. Among the Americans Gen Z (born from 1997 to 2012), only 41 percent are honored for their country.
The gloomy national mood, of course, goes beyond the Trump presidency and eventually can be traced to two -party failures that dominate the new century, starting with the imperial crimes of George W. in the world war with the terror and lack of reaction of Barack Obama to the 2008 economic cleavage (which continues. As it happens, the hometown of Redike reading perfectly illustrates the greater arc of national despair. Now the predominantly Latin American city remains Democratic support The fact that Kamala Harris won from 60 percent of the vote, but Trump increased his share of 16 percent from 2020 to 2024, which contributed to his victory in Pennsylvania. This 16 -point change was one of the largest swings in the 2024 elections. Like many cities in internal Americans, reading has never been restored after de -industrialization and job changes abroad.
But there is no doubt that Trump and him again make America a great movement, albeit using all the rhetoric of inflatable patriotism-wrapping many Americans love their country.
Political struggle for immigration shows as it is a project to make America great and make it more grotesque. The victory of the civil war made the equality of citizenship of the nation’s main identity, at least as a legal principle, if not always live reality. Trump undermines this principle not only with his attacks on citizenship, but also with threats to deport Political opponents, such as Zochran Mammani, candidate for the Democratic Party for the mayor of New York.
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Some Trump followers went even further. On Monday Laura Lumer, a provocateur who is also a trump truste, Twitter:
The alligator lives a matter. Good news is that the alligator is guaranteed at least 65 million meals when we start now.
“Alligator” is a reference to the content of migrants built in Florida known as “Alligator Alcatraz“The US has 65.2 million Latinos, the vast majority of which are citizens. Post, Loomer insincere tried to claim It only meant “illegal foreigners” rather than Latin American. The problem with this protection is that There is only approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants In the United States, while there are actually 65.2 million Latin. The intention of her original message is clear.
Trump’s deportation threats, citizenship attacks conducted at birth, and the rhetoric of the liquidation used by the Lumer, consisting of a concerted, national vision. The size of the policy of this national vision can be seen in “A great, beautiful bill“What the GoP Congress is working to pass when I write: a budget that increases the cost of Trump’s deportation car reduces ultra -healing taxes, and deprives almost 12 million health insurance. Protection.
Patriotism may mean the transformation of America into xenophobic, authoritarian dystopia. Although I am not an American, I wish America nothing but good (despite the fact that Donald Trump also wants to put out my country, Canada). In the fourth of July, I can only encourage Americans to listen to the lessons of great critical patriots – images, ranging from Frederic Douglas to Jane Addam to Martin Luther King – who taught that the love of your country often means to resist its government.
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