THE AMERICAN PATRIOTIC CLUB
RANT

I teach in a very large inner-city high school that is populated literally by students from all over the world. As in any large school, there exists a myriad of activities and organizations to keep the students busy and interested after classes end for the day. I discovered that many of our students remain in the building availing themselves of these extracurricular activities until 6 or 7 pm. It’s safer than their neighborhoods. Here they needn’t worry about stray bullets, drive-by shootings, or gang initiations.

I considered getting involved and obtained a list of clubs, some active and some dormant, to see what was available. The list included the French Club, the Spanish Club, the Italian Club, the Caribbean Club, and the Latin American Club. It went on to name, among others, the Arab-American Club, the Multicultural Club, the Celebrate Diversity Club, and the Multi-National Club. For some reason the list troubled me but I couldn’t quite get a handle on it. There seemed to be something off, something askew, but I couldn’t pin it down. It struck me rather suddenly and then came into perfect focus: clear as the proverbial bell; sharp as the crack from a 30/06 during hunting season! In this American high school, in an American city, in an American state, all cultures, ethnicities, races, groups, sub-groups , and more are celebrated, honored, extolled, applauded, and cheered. All, that is, but the AMERICAN CULTURE! All, that is but the AMERICAN EXPERIENCE AND ITS MAGNIFICENT CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE PROGRESS OF HUMAN-KIND!!

I thought that something should be done about this. The fact that America was not the focus of any of the school’s extracurricular activities troubled me deeply. At a meeting with the principal, I suggested creating the American Patriotic Club and informed him that I’d be glad to spend the necessary time and effort. He gave me a severely constipated glare, looked at me like I’d just sprouted a second head, and was speaking in “tongues.” He rejected the idea out-of-hand, explaining that it was ridiculous, uncalled for, and that our foreign-born students would resent it. He stated that our home-grown kids would never go for it, muttered something about “xenophobic assholes,” and stomped away.

This reminded me of an incident I’d heard about in a neighboring state. Construction had just been completed on one of those large warehouse-like box stores, although the name escapes me, and the grand-opening had been set. The construction crew had performed the traditional “topping off” ceremony. For the uninitiated, that means the union guys, a steamfitter, some electricians, and carpenters, raised an American flag on the roof. Since Christmas was also approaching, they set up a small tree as well. The manager, a refugee from some God-awful hovel in some third-world shit-hole of a nation, ordered the flag and tree removed. The crew, more than just a little perturbed, demanded an explanation. He told them that America’s national symbol and the “religious” tree would offend too many of his patrons and he had them taken down. Here’s a little free advice that just might save you some pain. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE BEFORE YOU OPEN YOUR BIG MOUTH! The flag and tree were both, of course, replaced and the hapless and loose-lipped manager had to take some unintended time off from work. Something about personal injuries and a flight of stairs: go figure.

Hoping that the principal’s negative reaction to the concept of emphasizing American patriotism and extolling this nation’s virtues was an aberration, I began calling high schools in all the city’s five boroughs. Nope – not one of them had any clubs, programs, curricula, etc. celebrating America: everybody else, sure, just not America! I got the same results from Long Island and upstate schools. I began to ask students directly if they’d be interested in joining my proposed club. I polled my own classes, other classes, and students in the hallways. I took it to the lunch room and even to the detention rooms. The reactions were universally negative, highly anti-American, and thoroughly worrisome. “Why would I do somethin’ like that? This country sucks!”, one kid opined. “You got to be jokin’,” quipped another, “America ain’t my country!” Another student, born and raised in America – well, Brooklyn anyway – chimed in with, “thass whack! America ain’t nothin’! America ain’t all that!!”

True, these are only but a few anecdotal examples but to catalogue them all would require too much space. Suffice it to say that they were negative in the extreme and displayed an unmistakable anti-Americanism: this from people living in my country. I was now more than merely troubled, more than just concerned. I was truly fearful for the survival of America – fearful for its future. Yeah, I know, I know. You think I’m some kind of paranoid jack-ass who needs to get out more or at least get a life. I’m probably making a mountain out of a mole-hill, right?

You think so, Skippy? Let me tell ya somethin’, Sport. For those of you who believe I’m overreacting, it’s time you extricated your heads from your collective anuses, looked around you, and prepared yourselves for the world of shit that’s just over the fucking horizon!! For a nation to survive, to grow, to prosper a love of country must exist. A sense of patriotism must flourish. Pride in the country’s past achievements is what leads to a sense of hope and optimism for its future! A sense of patriotism leads to a sense of national self-confidence. It leads to a unity of purpose and a willingness to sacrifice for the betterment of future generations of Americans. Without patriotism there is no nation, but instead just a place. Without patriotism there is no national glue to bind the country together. The various and disparate groups within seek their own limited self-interest because the national interest has been discarded. Can you say BALKANIZATION?!?

You think it can’t happen here? Open your eyes and smell the shit – uh, I mean coffee. In New York City, it’s already begun. Our national days of remembrance are virtually ignored. Need proof? Take the Independence Day Parade; it’s a joke compared to what it used to be. Attendance is down to a meager few as opposed to the masses of proud Americans that used to come out and celebrate our nation’s founding. The same is true for Memorial and Veteran’s Day observances when literally millions of Americans honored our fallen heroes for their sacrifice in defense of the country.

What captures the Big Apple’s attention now? How about the Puerto Rican Day Parade followed by the Dominican Day Parade. Next we have the Columbus Day Parade, the Caribbean Day Parade, and the Polaski Day Parade. We must not leave out the Mexican Day Parade, the Haitian Day Parade, or the – well, you get my drift. How about this for an idea? I’ll introduce a bill in the New York City Council to authorize and officially sanction the first annual AMERICAN DAY PARADE!! I’d no sooner get the words out of my mouth before the politically correct, diversity, and multi-cultural storm troopers labeled me both racist and jingoist! They’d haul my sorry ass away to the reeducation camps where I’d “learn” sensitivity. I’d be instructed in the beauties of multi-culturalism and diversity. I’d learn about the wonderful “mosaic” that is America in the 21st Century. “But,” you say, “we are a nation of immigrants. It’s always been that way! It is our multi-culturalism and diversity that makes this such a great nation!”

BULLSHIT, BULLSHIT, and BULLSHIT to the Nth degree!!! Political correctness, multi-culturalism, and diversity are destroying this once great nation!! LISTEN THE FUCK UP!! We are not a nation of immigrants! When we become a nation of immigrants this country’s done, all gone, finished! We have always been a nation of AMERICANS whose origins were simply elsewhere! Can we all say ASSIMILATION?!? Without assimilation, the process of becoming Americanized, we will indeed become a nation of immigrants! For hundreds of years, the goal of foreigners coming to this country was to become full-fledged, bona-fide Americans and nothing else! You’ve perhaps heard of the melting pot theory? Well here’s a news flash for you: it’s not a theory! It works, or it has until fairly recently.

The difference between today’s immigrants and those of yore is that they had an overwhelming, unbridled, and desperate desire to become Americans, not merely to live in America!! They did not want to become Irish-Americans, German-Americans, Italian-Americans, Polish-Americans or any other fucking thing! Theodore Roosevelt got it right when back in 1907 he said there is no room in this country for hyphenated Americans. You’re either an American or you’re not!! Tragically, this seems no longer to be the case. Far too many foreigners coming to this country are content to remain just that: foreigners who simply live here but owe their allegiance to some other nation. The more this is allowed to continue, the sooner the death of the United States!!

Instead of celebrating everyone else’s culture, why don’t we try something really different, really radical? How about celebrating the AMERICAN CULTURE for a freaking change!?! I’m so damned sick and tired of hearing that America has no real culture of its own, but rather has been somehow slapped together by adopting elements of the various cultures represented in this country by those who came from somewhere else. CRAP! NONSENSE!! INFURIATING!!! America has a distinct culture shaped and molded over the past quarter-millennium or so by its unique heritage, institutions, and place in history. When necessary that culture has been nurtured by the blood of – you got it – PATRIOTS: people who loved this country, were willing to defend it, and yes, die for it if needs be! Look around you, Chief. Not much of that left, is there?

The American culture rests solidly on three crucial elements. The first is freedom, tremendous freedom, much more so than any other place in history and that still remains the case. As long as the responsibilities concomitant with that freedom are adhered to, Americans are free to do as they please and follow their dreams. Unlike so many other places in the world, Americans are virtually free even from fear. The second pillar of the American culture is opportunity – unbridled opportunity! The only things preventing people, all people, from realizing their fondest hopes, their wildest dreams are the limitations they place on themselves. Beyond that, there is nothing an individual can’t accomplish in this great nation! The third aspect of the American culture has always been assimilation. While we are NOT a nation of immigrants, we certainly are a nation peopled by the many millions who came from far away.

Past groups used to assimilate as quickly as possible in order to take full advantage of all this country offers. They relished the thought, the challenge, and the opportunity of becoming Americans. Without a robust assimilation process, the distinct American culture we have constructed will, in fact, crumble. Without a driving, all-consuming desire on the part of newcomers to become Americans, our culture will be destroyed, and so too our country.

Without assimilation, the concept of American Exceptionalism, a cultural trait that is uniquely American, will whither and die. America has always been both exceptional and an exception. The United States has since its inception always been the exception to thousands of years of tyranny, fear, and hopelessness. Before July 4, 1776, the people of the world were held under the yoke of their rulers and masters. Life became a matter of obedience or death. Freedom existed for no one, anywhere. America served as the example that many would later follow and still do. Our Revolution inspired others all over the world and still does for those who want to break the chains of centuries upon centuries of despotism, tyranny, and fear. Since its beginning, this country has been the hope of humanity. In addition to being an exception, America is truly exceptional. It is not just a place, but also an idea and an ideal. Here, the most ordinary people can accomplish the most extraordinary things. It happens constantly. (Note the Limbaughism here. One must always give credit where credit is due). Here the human spirit can truly be set free and individual potential can be realized like no other place on earth or in history.

For our unique American culture to continue, to further the ideal of American Exceptionalism, a full measure of patriotism must be restored. There must be a love of country and a willingness to defend it. Patriotism used to be the prevailing sentiment in this country but that seems to be waning – no, make that plummeting. And no, patriotism does not mean blind obedience or allegiance. One of the truly exceptional aspects of this nation’s history, unlike most others, is that we have the capacity to not only recognize past mistakes but to rectify them. I give you, for example, slavery. It existed, it was wrong, and it’s gone! I give you the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 19th Amendments (no, you look ‘em up!). I give you the Civil Rights Movement. Truly great nations, like truly great people, recognize their flaws and move to correct them as quickly as possible.

Unless patriotism is once again actually taught to children by their parents and reinforced in the schools, it will continue to wane. All that the younger generations will learn are the relatively few mistakes this nation has made over the past 230 years compared to the tremendous numbers of accomplishments and contributions America has given the world. As Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen so eloquently stated in A Patriot’s History of the United States, “What is most amazing and refreshing is that the past usually speaks for itself. The evidence is there for telling the great story of the American past honestly – with flaws, absolutely, with shortcomings, most definitely. But we think that an honest evaluation of the history of the United States must begin and end with the recognition that, compared to any other nation, America’s past is a bright and shining light. America was, and is, the city on the hill, the fountain of hope, the beacon of liberty.”

Much Luv Y’All and Have a Great Day!

The Fifth Horseman