During the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, like many Americans, I was glued to the television in my living room. From the dominance of the gymnasts to the thrilling swimming finals, I cheered on the athletes of the US team every day and campaigned for a higher medal haul.
Now that the Games are over, I miss the daily excitement and try to relive the emotions by recapitulating highlights of the event on YouTube. But more than the excitement, I miss the feeling of unity behind a flag: the conversations with strangers about the biggest upsets and the red, white and blue stripes on people’s clothes. I can’t remember feeling a comparable sense of patriotism in the last four years.
I’m not alone. In an Axios poll ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, 82% of American respondents said they cheer for U.S. athletes, a number that was consistent across political preferences and age groups. That number stands in stark contrast to the 39% of respondents in another poll who said they were “extremely proud” to be American, with that figure at an all-time low among young adults. With feelings of patriotism declining, we must redefine the word “patriot” and empower ourselves to make changes that improve our relationship with this country.
Increasing polarization and cynicism are contributing to the decline of patriotism. Today, Americans are divided politically along geographic lines or in the echo chambers of social media. Deep-seated divisions are fueling a sense of hopelessness about both the political system and the country’s future. As a result, many Americans find it difficult to feel patriotic amid their cynicism, especially since many people associate feelings of patriotism with a blindness to the country’s failings.
But if we look past media reports of irreconcilable partisan divides, we discover aspects of American culture that engender shared pride. National parks, for example, inspire patriotism by protecting natural areas and providing access to all, and the United States’ research universities and innovative companies foster widespread pride in the country’s leading technological achievements. Outside of politics, we have many reasons to be proud.
These areas of pride give me hope that we can achieve unity. We should apply this optimism to politics as well. Despite partisan divisions, American voters are less ideologically polarized than they think. While politicians who dominate the media are highly polarized, average Americans of all parties share many common policy preferences. This surprising commonality underscores the opportunity for unity and possible political change based on a common platform.
Given our shared values, we can collectively inspire a new kind of patriotism that allows us to acknowledge the generational failings of this country while striving for a more just society. Although patriotism has taken on strong connotations in recent years, we must free the term from the clutches of identity politics and re-nuance the definition. As patriots, we can be both pessimistic and optimistic about this country, and we can embrace this stunning paradox.
While we can be pessimistic, we should not be cynical. Of course, we have valid reasons to remain skeptical about whether we will see change in our lifetimes. Still, pessimism means we will take action because of the seemingly intractable problems we face, not in spite of them. We will not settle for cynical inaction. To address our cynicism, we can limit our news consumption, spend time offline, and participate more in community events to build social cohesion and trust.
This new kind of patriotism also challenges the generalizations that there is only one way to be a “patriot” and pushes for a variety of ways to get involved as one. Interacting with elected officials, volunteering in our communities, and celebrating national holidays are just a few ways to be a patriot. Each of the above actions offers further ways to express our national pride and work towards the betterment of our country.
However, some people might use the title as a cover to perpetuate their bigotry. Therefore, we should recognize that patriotism (like our country) is an imperfect concept, and we should continue to move forward with optimism. As we explore the various ways to show national pride, we should promote inclusion as the foundation of that pride and diversity as a shared value of all patriots.
Change doesn’t come without effort. First, we can find aspects of pride in American sports or holidays, and our shared feelings can lead us to build unity in the more divisive aspects of our culture. By drawing on our shared love for our country, we can move forward with the belief that we are capable of addressing long-standing problems, and perhaps we can begin to see the changes we want to see.
Sarah Zhang is an opinion columnist who writes about gender, race, and campus culture. You can reach her at [email protected].
