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.