Expat Musings on American Nationalism

In the wake of Fourth of July weekend (and Canada Day), my mind is recovering from an onslaught of patriotism, and of course my thoughts turn to nationalism. It's interesting to think that when most other countries celebrate Independence Day, they are celebrating the native populations' upheaval of an occupying power. Take, for example, Korea: Here they celebrate the day Korea became liberated from Japan. But America? We celebrate the day the colonists shook free from their own country. 

In recent years, we have seen a budding culture of "America, Fuck Yeah!" and hyper-Americanized everything, from bumper stickers to popular songs to tank tops. The ongoing dialogue about immigration and immigration rights has led to a greater need to define what it means to be American, and not just on your papers.

Personally, I am not a fan of the sensationalized "'Murica, Number 1" trend, although I do make my fair share of American-muscle jokes. I don't think it's appropriate or smart to boast about America's unfortunate role as the world police. It adds to our already embarrassing reputation internationally, even in places like Korea where people love America. It misleads our own citizens to imagine America as an infallible, almighty powerhouse of a country. It creates an unpleasant, unfriendly attitude toward foreigners in The U.S.A., undermining American roots, and what I consider to be the United States' most attractive quality, our cultural diversity.

So why are Americans drifting to this frankly unattractive brand of nationalism? I think it's because we are an angsty teenager of a country. We had our formative childhood years when we did whatever we wanted and got away with it. Now, we have generations and generations of American-born citizens. We are losing touch with our cultural roots, and we need a new way to explain to ourselves and the world who were are. We need more to hold onto than a flag, we need an identity. And that identity is under construction.

We aren't the best country in the world (but it's okay if we're your favorite). We haven't clearly won every war. We aren't leaders in education or equality or environmental responsibility. We are geographically and ethnically and culturally diverse, but we aren't the most diverse in any of those categories. We aren't so many things...and that doesn't help us figure out who we are. So right now we cling to a flag and and old notion that we are in charge of the world, but sooner or later that's not going to be enough.

I don't know what American nationalism should be. I understand that national identity is always a work in progress, that the citizens of a country create and update their nationalism everyday. My hope is that Americans come to understand this responsibility, and that when we are choosing who we are, we make a priority to choose wisely.