The Case for Unapologetic American Spirit

These days, American spirit has been co-opted into being synonymous with minds that hold tightly to their blinders, unwilling to expand the view beyond what is narrowly in front of them.

This makes it unfashionable to be patriotic, but pride in one’s country is often confused with perfection. This country is far from perfect. Our origins are littered with the untold stories of peoples brutally removed from their land and it was brushed over with manifest destiny as justification. We built an entire economy on the enslavement of other humans, then killed each other in defense of it. We have imprisoned our fellow man because of where their ancestors lived. We are quick to discriminate against immigrants, while ignoring that for most of us our familial stories are founded on those who had the bravery to pick up and move.

We have much to atone for, and that should never be ignored. But just as things are never all good, nor are they all bad.

People cite the American dream as the pull to our shores. The house, the car - the consumerism. A dream that many wise people have rightly noted, if unchecked, can instead become a prison. The American dream as it stands today is a gilded shell hiding the real spirit - the promise of hope. That whatever dream has been whispering to your soul can be possible. The fullest expression of you can be realized, if you are brave enough to chase it. The allure of throwing caution and logic to the wind, with a deep knowing with every fiber of your being that even if you fail, you are among others of every country and culture that too dream in color, just like you.

Our history is filled with unspeakable tragedy that shows the worst of humanity. Yet the same history reveals in its stories thousands of Americans who dared to be different and pushed the whole world forward by being unapologetically themselves, a characteristic of that seems to burn brightest in the U.S. This is our salvation, a uniting fundamental element that has allowed us to thrive.

The First Post.

The current state of this union demands nothing less than every ounce of courage we can muster. This is a crucial time which the future and soul of this country is at a crossroads. Manufactured differences keep us pulling in every direction, keeping us apart. The road isn’t back, forward, left or right - it’s up.

I don’t pretend to know more, have more experience, or be better suited than anyone else for this expression of ideas. My superpower may very well be the willingness to simply to write with my millennial quill. Nor can I deny the strong coincidence - it is likely that the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States has moved me to take the ideas and thoughts that have been dancing around in my mind for decades and finally put them to paper.

These words are many things: humble thoughts and perspectives for the purpose of engaging in meaningful conversations, desperate prayers from a person who refuses to give up on her country, and a call to action to anyone out there who dares to use their voice to advance us toward the heavens.

These thoughts are not intended to be the musings of a sycophant of bygone era or blind patriotic ramblings. However, it is equally important to remember that truly good ideas don’t expire. As an example, ancient transcendent wisdom was poured into the much of founding of this nation, but the ability to put it fully into practice was deeply flawed by the time in which the ideas were penned.

While some conflate the great ideas with the time they were conceived, attempting a thinly veiled pitch to return us to days gone by, providential progress has continued to march on. Despite all attempts and even recent successes to drag us backwards, even a casual student of history might remark that much progress has been made toward unequivocal equality and equity.

I firmly believe we are breaking down all the old systems, ridding ourselves of dormant remnants that have been dragging us down for centuries. Fortune favors the bold, and action is required to get the American experiment to the next level. We are being pulled back and have the potential energy to be shot straight up without limits. This ambitious goal can only be achieved if we all focus in the same direction. United we stand, divided we fall.