I know that COVID-19 has a lot of us thinking about systems, and the ways they are oppressing and failing so many people in this country. I’ve been thinking how this begins with belief systems, and one in particular is a warped sense of patriotism 1/
The type of patriotism I’m talking about is rooted in whiteness. A sense that this country is—and has always been—the best country in the world. That sentiment exudes whiteness. This country was founded on the mass genocide of one nonwhite group and the enslavement of another 2/
So the sense that this has always been a great country obviously isn’t true for anyone who isn’t infected with whiteness. But I’ve been particularly struck by how patriotic whiteness has treated this pandemic 3/
For the last several months, whiteness has, in part, treated the virus as it has treated terrorism. Whiteness has determined that COVID-19 was not going to infringe on our personal freedoms, and that we would go on with our normal lives to prove this as such 4/
That kind of patriotic sentiment swept the nation post-9/11. The country was legitimately scared, and going about a normal, daily life was seen as an act of bravery or strength. An act of patriotism 5/
People, mostly white, have photographed themselves in public places or in large gatherings, posting on social media about how their rights won’t be infringed upon. I understood people’s fear after 9/11 and understood how people felt they were standing up to terrorism, but now? 6/
And I get there many systems at play with this pandemic. But it brings me back to one system that I’m part of. The education system. What are we teaching kids about patriotism? What are we teaching kids about how to love a country? 7/
And miss me with any silly “you’re being anti-American” sentiment. If that’s your response, you’re being trite. As James Baldwin said, “I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” 8/
What are we teaching students about being a good citizen in a democracy? Generations of students were (and often continue to be) forced daily to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Has that policy made good citizens? Have we created a citizenry of critical thinkers? 9/
What stories do our textbooks tell? Whose story is being told? Whose history is being told? How are we relentlessly seeking truth? How are we debunking myths about boot straps and rugged individualism? How would this moment look and feel if we had already debunked them? 10/
Efforts to tell the truth are often indicted as liberal indoctrination. But how were generations historically indoctrinated by whiteness? And the results? How many Americans will die so that certain people can prove that a virus will not infringe upon the land of the free? 11/
There was such a patriotic rally cry for victims of the 9/11 attacks, and rightfully so. The total number of U.S. deaths is already double the number of Americans who died on 9/11. Will patriotism continue to shrug its shoulders when we reach a 9/11 number of deaths daily? 12/
Will patriotism care if the number of COVID-19 deaths equals the number of American casualties in the Vietnam War? What about when total U.S. deaths exceed that of World War II? Will speaking in these terms help whiteness understand what patriotism should look like? 13/
Because right now patriotism looks like by staying inside. Right now patriotism looks like caring for health professionals and first responders. Right now patriotism looks like listening to scientists. Right now patriotism looks like caring about human lives above all else 14/End
