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What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?
What we can still learn from Frederick Douglass’s shattering question
Right-wing influencers have taken to social media with glee, circulating the results of a recent poll suggesting more Republicans than Democrats are “proud to be American.”
Cue the victory laps. Cue the smug memes.
Funny, isn’t it, how everyone suddenly loves polls — so long as they reinforce their worldview. But let’s set aside MTG partisan theatrics for a second.
Because there’s a deeper, more enduring question here than how many people are flying flags on their front lawns or saluting at football games.
What does it really mean to be proud of a country?
Proud as in no matter what my country does, I’ll still wave the flag with a smile?
Proud as in even when my government cages children or allows police to kneel on Black necks, I’ll keep singing the national anthem without flinching?
That’s not patriotism. That’s denial wrapped in red, white, and blue.
Frederick Douglass Knew Better
On July 5, 1852, Frederick Douglass stood before a white abolitionist crowd in Rochester, New York, and asked a question that still echoes with brutal…
