America belongs to all of us

For much of American history, patriotism functioned as a kind of common language. We fought bitterly over politics and culture, but we generally agreed that the country itself was worth believing in. At least until recently.

According to Gallup, only 58% of American adults say they are proud to be American – the lowest level since Gallup began measuring this question. Among Gen Z, that figure is just 41%.

People have good reason to be disappointed. Today’s young adults have come of age amid wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a financial crisis, an increasingly out-of-reach housing market, soaring health care costs, mounting student debt, an epidemic of gun violence, a global pandemic, and a brutal job market (I could go on). According to Pew, public trust in government is at an all-time low.

But patriotism has never been about pretending that problems don’t exist. Nor does it require blind loyalty to those in power. It means ownership – the belief that the country is yours to improve, and ultimately yours to protect – even, or perhaps especially, when it fails to live up to its ideals. Your loyalty is to the country, not to the people who run it.

Frederick Douglass understood this better than anyone. His speech: “What is the 4th of July to the slave? ” remains one of the most devastating indictments ever brought against America. Yet Douglass later recruited black men – including his own sons – to fight for the Union in the Civil War.

Much of what shapes our daily lives is not decided by some distant force in Washington. It’s decided at school board meetings, zoning hearings, and city council meetings that most people never attend.

I also learned my own version of patriotism in uniform. In March 2003, I deployed to Baghdad with the 82nd Airborne. I was 29 years old and, despite growing doubts about the strategic logic of the war, I still believed deeply in the institution I served. Many of us had questions about the purpose and direction of the war. Even though we did not always agree with the mission or decisions made by those above us, we served with honor because our obligation exceeded that of any administration or political moment.

I returned from Iraq after losing 19 of my men in combat. The war was a strategic failure, but on the ground in Baghdad, I worked alongside Iraqis who risked everything for freedoms that most Americans take for granted. Our interpreter Alyaa was the first person from her neighborhood to volunteer to work with American forces. Her cousin Shaimaa was later kidnapped and tortured for doing the same. They knew the risks and showed up anyway. Their courage deepened my own commitment to service and changed the way I view my obligations to my country. If they were willing to risk everything for Iraq’s future, I had a responsibility to do the same.

A year after returning home, I ran for Congress, and in 2006, I became the first Iraq War veteran elected to the United States House of Representatives. While on the Hill, I worked to help the country more fully live up to its ideals, co-authoring the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the post-9/11 GI Bill, the largest expansion of veterans’ education benefits since World War II.

My journey from military service to public service was once a familiar American story. In the decades after World War II, about 80 percent of members of Congress had served in uniform. Today, that figure is around 18 percent.

The civic pipeline that military service once provided cannot be completely rebuilt by the military alone. Only about 1 percent of Americans serve today. This figure is not returning to World War II levels, nor should it.

Patriotism has never been about pretending that problems don’t exist. Nor does it require blind loyalty to those in power. It means ownership.

But the lesson of military service is not just about the institution itself. It’s about what happens when Americans are asked to show up for something bigger than themselves. We can apply this lesson in our own communities. Much of what shapes our daily lives is not decided by some distant force in Washington. It’s decided at school board meetings, zoning hearings, and city council meetings that most people never attend. These meetings are open to the public. Advocating for the changes you want to see often starts with a simple presentation.

Most of the decisions that affect our daily lives are made much closer to home than we think. Yet too many of us convince ourselves that we are powerless to influence them.

We are not.

It’s easy to be disappointed in a country that has failed so many of its citizens. But the answer is not disengagement or despair. We must actively participate in our democracy and be prepared to take ownership of the results. The country you desire exists in proportion to the work you put into building it. Take ownership of our problems and invest in their solutions.

The American flag does not belong to one party. It belongs to all of us. As our nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, this moment calls us to rebuild the habits of citizenship that once taught us to belong to a common project. Only by showing up together for what we believe in and value most can we make it better.

The future of the republic depends not only on loving America. It depends on our presence – and others. This is the true love of the country.

The Honorable Patrick J. Murphy is a Wharton lecturer, veteran entrepreneur, and Deputy Secretary of the 32nd Army after earning the Bronze Star for his service in Baghdad, Iraq, as an All-American with the 82nd Airborne Division — @PatrickMurphyPA on Instagram and Twitter. Murphy is a supporter of Citizen Media Group.

MORE BY PATRICK J. MURPHY

The 4th of July event is presented in Philadelphia on Saturday, July 4, 2009. (© 2009 George Widman Photography LLC, licensed for use by Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp.)

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