I’ve always considered myself a patriotic person, but I woke up to this Independence Day wondering how much we had to celebrate. My father was in the military, so I was born abroad and grew up on military bases. One of my most vivid memories as a child is running to greet my dad when he returned from the Gulf War in 1991. It was a party like none other, flags waving, music playing, and people celebrating.

The lyrics to God Bless the USA, “and I’m proud to be an American… where at least I know I’m free, and I won’t forget the men who died who gave that right for me and I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today, cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land…” blared through sound speakers in the background. That was literally the soundtrack of my childhood. If you’re simply looking for performative patriotism, then it doesn’t get any more patriotic than that right?

But that’s a part of the problem. I’ve met more people who claim to love America, but who can’t seem to stand Americans. They claim to be willing to defend America, but aren’t willing to defend either its people or its ideals. To love a country is to love all of it, including our full history in context. To love a people is to love all of them, even the ones you disagree with. For me, these lyrics have taken on a different meaning in adulthood, because it has gifted me question, what does it mean to be a citizen? That’s not simply a patriotism question, for me it’s a spiritual one rooted in our common humanity as people.

What do we owe one another? Compassion? Accountability? Honest debate? A shared understanding of our past so we can shape a better future? Without modeling citizenship in schools or demanding it in public life, there won’t be much of a country left to defend.

That’s why I believe we need a national reckoning, a citizenship project. Instead of asking who deserves to be a citizen, maybe we should ask: What does citizenship require of me?

Our country has a fault line of struggling to define who gets to be a citizen and what are the rights of citizenship. I think we need to reframe citizenship around the responsibilities… what does citizenship require of me? For me, that means service. Whether through the military, AmeriCorps (my own path), City Year, or Peace Corps. Serving alongside fellow Americans helps us understand each other’s struggles, hopes, and humanity.

Ultimately, whether we like it or not, we’re all in this together. As Dr. King says, we may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now. Throughout history, it’s often been those with the least freedom who served as this nation’s moral compass. That’s a burden that shouldn’t be, and wouldn’t be with a more actively engaged citizenry.

In his famous speech before the Civil War, former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass asked, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? This Fourth of July is yours, not mine, You may rejoice, I must mourn.” It’s time more of us mourned the distance between our ideals and our reality. Only then can we truly appreciate the freedoms we claim to celebrate.

SDW3