The Old Truck on Tyranny.
This week continues a series inspired by Tim Snyder’s 2017 book On Tyranny and the “20 Lessons” derived from his study.
No. 19: Be a patriot. Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come.
I grew up in a home where we flew an American flag on at least some days that call for it.1 I remember Dad standing with me under our huge maple tree, teaching me to fold it: twice lengthwise, stars and bars face-up, then a tight triangular wrap ending with a tuck. Never let it touch the ground. If it gets tattered, take it to the American Legion for proper disposal.2 Show respect.
It used to surprise folks who knew my Dad for his comic skills — he was the first man I ever saw in drag — that he served as a drill sergeant in World War 2.
Dad and most of his brothers and friends were veterans of World War 2. Both he and my Mom lost friends and family in what used to be known as “the” war. Both had immigrant parents or grandparents. Both grew up through the Great Depression.
Their own kids heard just enough stories of past difficulties to give some perspective on the better life we had. When Dad was young, his Christmas present (St. Nicholas Day gift, actually) might be nothing but an orange some years, maybe the only piece of fruit he would get, and a handful of walnuts. When the chickens laid eggs, those would be traded for more important things, like flour (“Eat a whole egg? By yourself? Heh, maybe for your birthday…”)
Both were active in our community. They were generous with their charity, beginning at home, and not ending there. Both voted for Reagan, Ford, and the Bushes. No doubt Eisenhower, too. They insisted they woud vote for the best candidate, regardless of party.
There was no question what it meant to be an American, in their home. Both would say, many times, many ways:
“Leave the world better than you found it. That’s the American way”
Once, when I made a snide, teenage remark about Reagan, Mom sharply demanded that I show respect for the office of the President, no matter what I may feel about the person occupying it. “He will be gone when his term or terms are done and, once you grow up, you can vote for whom you want.” She insisted that I show respect for democracy, and my good fortune for living in one, even when a vote does not go my way. Especially then.
I did not like her tone, but she taught me something about patriotism, and loyalty to ideals, not individuals.
Mom died while Trump was still just a T.V. huckster. She could have never voted for him. She was a strong woman who was very proud of helping her nation kick Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito’s fascist asses to the curb; though she would not have put it quite that way, herself. You could hear it in her voice, though. Trump is famous for assaulting women and insulting the military.3 He would never earn the vote of a woman like her. Not even close. Clinton, neither.
patriotism /pā′trē-ə-tĭz″əm/
noun
Love of and devotion to the ideals of one's country.
On November 3rd, 2026, American citizens will vote for who we want to control the U.S. Congress next, just like every other November for nearly 250 years. I am clenching my teeth waiting for this next election. Throwing off a king was their very first job.
At the same time, I also see the “we have already fallen to fascism” narratives swirling around. Click-bait written by useful idiots, and algorithmically amplified to drive down voter turnout. Hope pumps voters up, just ask Obama. Despair deflates us, keeps us home.4 Despair mongers are in it for themselves.
My father would have told the “we have already fallen” crowd to stop whining and do something useful.
Comparing America 2025 to Germany 1933 is asinine, for reading history as an incident instead of a complex flow. The Weimar Republic had existed for all of 15 years when Hitler was appointed Chancellor and canceled it. Prior to this, the Germanic peoples had been ruled by one strongman or another for their entire history, right up until their republican experiment.
Germany only became “Germany” at all in 1871, nearly a century after we became the U.S.A.. Before that, they were an ancient, crazy-quilt empire, ruled by dozens of dukes and princes bickering over which one should be “elected” as their latest strongman-in-chief. So, for Germany’s first democracy to fail, in favor of yet another strongman, was just a return to how things had always been.
And yes, other fledgling democracies planted on historically autocratic soil have also struggled and failed. New seeds do not always take in tired, old soil. Democracy is hard. Americans are waking up to this, too.
By stark contrast, though, America’s national identity is founded on our being the first and oldest constitutional democracy in the history of the world. We are not new at this. Being the planet’s premier democratic republic is the only political experience we have, as a nation.
Pride in this history is the literal definition of American patriotism. People emigrate here to be part of this continuing story. To demand a peaceful transfer of power after each and every election is the very essence of Americanism. To expect any different — much less give aid and comfort to the enemy — is literally un-American. Which means patriotism is the strongest weapon any anti-fascist American has. Why would anyone cede this fact?
… Patriotism is the strongest weapon any anti-fascist American has.
Why would anyone cede this fact?
Yes, the presidency is being exploited in norm-breaking ways not seen in a very long time. Yes, people are being harmed, particularly transgender people and immigrants. And yes, MAGAs are hypocrites (e.g., Federal troops attacking American citizens are bad … unless Trump says so), and fools, for electing a government that is slashing their healthcare while protecting pedophiles.
Yet, our nation has survived worse. One of the few times my depression-era Dad ever became visibly angry with me, he vividly reminded me that I had never lived through anything remotely close to the Great Depression or World War 2, much less the Civil War. Yet there we were, watching cable television news together in our gas-heated living room, each of us sitting next to a reading lamp. He then reminded me of the first time he ever saw a lightbulb, back on the homestead, thanks to Roosevelt’s New Deal, and the Rural Electrification Act.
Dad taught me to learn history, watch trends, and not whine so much.
I am well aware, of course, that “Stop Whining” is not exactly a resonant political message, particularly coming from someone who is neither transgender nor holding a green card. That does not change the fact, though, that panic, shame, and fear will never build a winning coalition. The Democrats should know this by now, and ignore any candidate who has nothing better to offer.
What we need are visions big enough for the world’s oldest and most successful democracy. Ambitions like finally solving our late-stage capitalist healthcare nightmare. Ambitions like fixing Social Security and our fragile electrical grid. Ambitions like nationwide high-speed rail, to create jobs and help clear some exhaust from the skies. And, ambitions like remembering we are a nation built on the hopes and dreams of the 98% of all American families who owe our lives on this continent to ancestors who had the courage to emigrate in search of building something new and better.
As my Dad might have put it, “If America can put a man on the moon,” well then what the hell else might we get done?
“Flying the Flag is one of the simplest and most powerful ways to demonstrate your patriotism. While you can fly the Flag any day of the year, there are some notable days when all Americans should do so.”
Holiday Guide to Flying the American Flag
https://nationalflagfoundation.org/etiquette/holiday-guide-to-flying-the-american-flag/
“Many American Legion posts conduct disposal ceremonies of unserviceable flags, especially on Flag Day (June 14). Such ceremonies are particularly dignified and solemn occasions for the retirement of unserviceable flags. Take your old flags to your local American Legion post. They will be happy to retire your flags in their next disposal ceremony.”
How To Dispose of an American Flag
https://emblem.legion.org/flag-education/dispose.asp
“Egged on by his father, the U.S. president began expressing contempt for Americans who fight in wars as far back as high school, his classmates say.”
Trump Has Mocked the U.S. Military His Whole Life
https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/09/08/trump-mocked-us-military-troops-losers-whole-life/
“The results suggest that higher levels of despair lead to lower turnout rates at both the individual and community levels.”
Despair and Voter Turnout in the United States
https://read.dukeupress.edu/jhppl/article-abstract/50/3/337/392357/Despair-and-Voter-Turnout-in-the-United-States?redirectedFrom=fulltext