Conservatives, Republicans and commentators on the right have been fond – for decades – of claiming that they are the true American patriots. Donald Trump (our President who is also a convicted felon, has been impeached twice, has been indicted in three other jurisdictions, and has been found liable for sexual assault) has followed in this tradition by calling Democrats and others on the left “dangerous,” “evil,” “the enemy from within,” “Marxists and communists and fascists,” and a threat to democracy. 
During the 2024 campaign, he called Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her allies “sick,” “evil” and “a party of soundbites.”
After 10 years of Trump, his enablers and his cowardly minions, and having lived through only three short months of his second term, millions of us now know who are the truly dangerous ones – and who are truly behaving like the authoritarians that communists and fascists have long proven themselves to be. With the help of the US Supreme Court’s unbelievable decision that presidents are essentially “immune from criminal liability for his official acts, and is absolutely immune for some ‘core’ of them,” Trump et al are pushing executive power to limits that no other previous president has pushed. He and his administration are even deliberately defying court decisions. Trump et al are blatantly promoting white Christian nationalism, racism, cruelty, voter suppression, and decimation of departments and institutions that have served and protected us for decades. If these moves and actions are not anti-democratic, anti-patriotic, anti-American and against all of our cherished values, then what is?
Ever since Trump’s Big Lie – his stubborn, completely unfounded assertion that the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden, was “stolen” from him – it has fallen to the Democracy Coalition to push back and fight tooth and nail on dozens of fronts to try to salvage what’s left of the rule of law, the checks and balances between our three branches of government, and our beloved Constitution. 
The Democracy Coalition can be said to include not only not just Democrats, liberals and progressives but also former Republican Representatives such as Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, certain leaders in business, law firms and higher education, dedicated civil servants fired by Trump, and millions of Americans who have taken to the streets in demonstrations throughout the country. Pushback has emerged in surprising circles as evidenced by courageous anti-Trump letters, articles and op-eds by members of the military, long-time conservatives, and members of the judiciary.
The time is ripe for the Democracy Coalition to firmly, loudly, consistently and unabashedly take back some of the symbols, phrases and attributes of patriotism. This can, and must, be done while also maintaining and supporting values long associated with the left (many of which are routinely denigrated by those on the right): compassion for those who have not benefited from American success, investment in government programs that support all of us, progressive taxation, expanded and more equitable health care, common-sense gun safety legislation, and so on.
As we head into the 250th year of our national independence, let us ponder how the left might reclaim patriotism:
- Display the American flag proudly. We have our faults as a country, but we can love it while simultaneously wanting to make it better (a lesson that conservatives might need to learn).
- Encouraged the learning of the National Anthem and other patriotic songs in public schools as part of civics education (if not as part of a music curriculum). If we are adults who don’t already know these songs, try to learn them (even though the Star-Spangled Banner is difficult to sing!). This does not necessarily mean legislation, but the left should not allow the right to hijack the issue.
- Conservatives have historically and traditionally been seen as quintessentially patriotic when it comes to support of the military and law enforcement. In the Trump era, however, lawlessness at many levels – including turning the Justice Department into Trump’s personal law firm – has twisted the values. The left has a golden opportunity to assert ourselves in this area, as many in the Democracy Coalition already have. Support our courageous military, law enforcement and intelligence community members (while, of course, calling out abuses and waste).
- Capitalism is closely associated with patriotism for conservatives. Our sister nations, as we have pointed out in the past, have found ways to harness capitalism to the benefit of their people and the common good. While the right often derides such countries as “socialist,” or worse, they are lying and trying to dupe the American public. The Democracy Coalition can reclaim the support of measured capitalism as patriotic and supportive of American values.
- The right, under the influence of Trump, Stephen Miller, Newt Gingrich, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and others, claims that the so-called “deep state” is to blame for many of our national problems. The “deep state,” however, is coded language for a couple of million dedicated civil servants throughout the country (not just in Washington, DC) who perform their duties on our behalf. They generally do their jobs expertly, through multiple administrations; they follow laws passed legitimately by Congress, and they are generally paid much less than they could make in the private sector. The Democracy Coalition has an opportunity to take the patriotic high road by supporting these excellent workers, especially if they lose their jobs by being targeted by Trump.
- In some conservative circles, it has become accepted (if not celebrated) to applaud (or even perpetrate) violence against their political adversaries and equate this with the patriotism of our Revolution 250 years ago. As has been proven by the huge crowds at commemorations in Concord, and Lexington, Mass., Americans understand that the patriotic impulse supports freedom, the overthrow of tyrants, and the Constitution – not Trump’s blatant power grabs and proven criminality.
The Democracy Coalition can stand up for the true values of the Revolution, even while acknowledging that we must continue to strive for “a more perfect union.” - Conservatives loudly and proudly support the Second Amendment and falsely claim that left-leaning Americans want to “take our guns away.” What liberals and progressives might do to reclaim the discussion is to find ways to support hunters, the sport of hunting, and proficiency sports involving guns. In addition to the fact that hunters support gun safety laws, the majority of us are in favor of common-sense regulations such as strengthening background checks, temporarily limiting access to firearms for individuals in crisis, safe storage for firearms in homes with children, and holding the gun industry to similar regulatory standards as the tobacco, automobile, and opioid industries. It is patriotic for us to support both the Second Amendment and sensible gun safety legislation.
Patriotism should be viewed as a positive trait that belongs to all Americans who love our country and want it to work for all responsible citizens. Patriotism is not cruel or violent, racist, counter to the Constitution or the rule of law, founded on lies and disinformation, or beholden to authoritarians or criminals. If the Democracy Coalition successfully reclaims a healthy patriotism throughout the country, it might just help bring us back from the brink – and win future elections.