How Democrats are reclaiming patriotism from Trump’s MAGA movement

If you listen to many longtime observers, this year’s Democratic National Convention offered up something different from previous incarnations: an emphasis on striking a patriotic stance. From Vice President Kamala Harris praising “the greatest privilege on Earth: the privilege and pride of being an American” in her acceptance speech down to the attendees waving little flags in the audience, Democrats put their love of country front and center. What we saw last week, though, was a shift in tone and rhetoric, as Democrats filled the gap Republicans left wide open to define what “patriotism” means. Rather than mimic the GOP to insist that they are also patriots, for the first time in decades the DNC’s attendees instead declared with their whole chests that theirs is the party of real patriots. Rather than mimic the GOP to insist that they are also patriots, for the first time in decades the DNC’s attendees instead declared with their whole chests that theirs is the party of real patriots. For longer than I’ve been alive, Republicans have been more than happy to accuse anyone to the left of former President Ronald Reagan of harboring anti-American sentiments. President George W. Bush’s warning to other nations — “Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists” — was turned inward toward any liberals who might speak out against invading Iraq. It’s impossible to defend how then-Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., began his acceptance speech at the 2004 DNC without cringing. (“John Kerry, reporting for duty,” he said with a crisp salute, despite having left the military more than 30 years earlier.) In the Obama era, the tea party movement’s thinly veiled racism was initially framed as a rejection of tyranny, drawing on symbols from the American Revolution, and “patriots” became a word associated with a certain brand of conservative. Ever focused on branding, former President Donald Trump claimed that visual vocabulary for his own, entwining his MAGA movement with the trappings of the banal, surface-level patriotism that Republicans had already embraced. Instead, Trump has called for the “termination” of the Constitution, and he has already attempted to overturning one presidential election. Trump has called the rioters who attempted to prevent his loss from becoming official on Jan. 6, 2021, “patriots” and just announced a fundraiser in their honor next month. Democrats are celebrating the country’s diversity as a sign of national greatness — as opposed to the GOP’s picture of a nation of homogeneous, unwavering loyalty. Despite that, as The Washington Post’s Philip Bump noted, voters are still more likely to view the GOP as the more patriotic party. It’s worth noting that this was during the height of the Trump years, a time when Democrats had their faith in America deeply shaken. It’s a faith that has yet to recover, though, according to a survey Gallup conducted in June, which found only 34% of Democrats describe themselves as “extremely proud” to be an American. It instead speaks to an effort at redefining what love of country means along with reclaiming the concept of “freedom.” Democrats are celebrating the country’s diversity as a sign of national greatness — as opposed to the GOP’s picture of a nation of homogeneous, unwavering loyalty. This vision expands on President Joe Biden’s framing of the threat to democracy, broadening from a single man to the GOP’s fetish for that man. In her opening essay for “The 1619 Project,” The New York Times’ Nikole Hannah-Jones wrote about how Black Americans have always been among the most patriotic citizens. This is because despite the indignities we have suffered, we’ve been the ones most committed to seeing America embrace the better angels of its nature. The progressivism Democrats displayed last week can make an awkward fit with the conservative-coded aspects of patriotism, as The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Will Bunch rightly noted. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/kamala-harris-democrats-patriotism-trump-rcna167961