I Love My Country
I
love my country.
I
love it with a clear eye to its failures as well as its triumphs, the
hypocrisies it embodies as well as its loftiest ideals.
My
love for the United States was forged through a child’s eye, shaped by the
lessons of my parents and teachers. It was baptized in memorized incantations –
like the Pledge of Allegiance and Star Spangled Banner, as well as the
hagiographic biographies of men like Washington and Lincoln that one reads in
grade school.
Over
the years, as my experiences grew and my readings deepened in complexity, I
sought out a much more nuanced definition of patriotism.
It
was one that demanded opposition to, and the exposure of, the wrongs inherent
to so much of our society.
It
was a sense of American exceptionalism to be worshiped at the altar of a free
and independent press.
It
was a shining light illuminated by the accomplishments of men and women of
reason who had the courage to challenge the conventional wisdoms they saw as
outdated, naive, or cynical.
As
I grew, I began to see a deep undertow that was also part of our country. It
was one fueled by my fellow citizens who were suspicious of growth, skeptical
of knowledge, and closed minded to new ideas.
Elitism can be a pernicious force in a democracy, but championing and celebrating those who have risen to prominence on the basis of their hard work, mental acuity, wisdom and knowledge is what has made our country great.
As
Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter to John Adams “there is a natural aristocracy among men. The grounds of this are
virtue and talents.” Our national scaffolding was built by such men – and
women.”
Of
course the path of our national identity has wavered from Jefferson’s ideal on
several occasions. In a column in 1980, the science fiction writer Isaac Asimov
wrote: “There is a cult of ignorance in
the United States, and there has always been. The strain of
anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our
political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means
that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”
I
have seen many societal outbursts of ignorance, and I would argue that we are
in an age where that feeling is ascendent.
But
I have also seen the countervailing forces that have shaped America into the
greatest land of science and ingenuity the world has ever known. It is a battle
for the soul and destiny of our national narrative. Our future prosperity and
strength demands that the forces of reason win out.
But
as much as I love my country, I also love humanity. I seek not a zero sum world
where America’s victories lie in others nations’ defeats. And here is where I
would caution the incoming administration of Donald Trump:
You
have appealed to the some of the basest fears and lowest instincts of our
electorate.
You
have appointed men and women as your advisors and to your cabinet who seem
outright hostile to science and reason.
You
mock those who have pursued lifetimes of thought and study and elevate
know-nothing over know-something.
This
has given you a short-term burst of political power but do not think that
American greatness is preordained. It needs cultivating and care.
This
is a big and wondrous world. There are other places for the best minds to go.
This will be America’s great loss if Mr. Trump dims the light of knowledge.
I
will mourn the passing deeply but I will hope that other nations aren’t so
shortsighted. Progress, reason, science, justice… these are human ideals that
must flourish for the sake of all of us, in whatever land they can take root.
I
deeply hope that we can still continue to call the United States the greatest
nation on Earth because that will mean that we have made the right choices.
In
1969, as Congress was debating a costly particle accelerator to study seemingly
abstract physics, the director of the Fermilab, Robert Wilson, was asked in a
hearing whether the research might be applicable for military purposes. His
famous reply stands not only as a potent symbol of his age, but a North Star by
which we must continue to steer our ship of state.
” …this new knowledge has all to
do with honor and country but it has nothing to do directly with defending our
country except to help make it worth defending.”