Our American Identity

I identify as an American Christian black man with conservative values.

The main stream media and our bloated corrupt, government love to create crisis to keep our eyes off the real issues that plague America. The major crisis they won’t talk about is America’s identity crisis. More and more, we are identifying as anything except Americans.

This crisis is real, and I hope to provide insight into how we should address this matter supported by the ideas of accomplished American citizens, authors and activists. They are, Jim Fini, author of “Locally Grown: The Art of Sustainable Government”, Marybeth P. Ulrich, PhD, Air Force Academy class of 1984 graduate, a distinguished visiting professor at the United States Air Force Academy and author of “The USAF at 75: Renewing our Democratic Ethos” an article published in AEther: A Journal of Strategic Airpower & Spacepower, and Vivek Ramaswamy, former GOP presidential candidate and author of “Woke, Inc.” and “Nation of Victims”.

Each of these citizens uniquely point out that our nation has an identity crisis, and they provide what I believe are potential solutions to this issue.

Who are we?

Or better yet, from the lyrics of The Who, “Who are you?” If you live in this great nation, I know what your answer should be.

What do you believe? 

As a person living in America, I know what you should believe, but do you?

Why do you believe what you believe?

Like any family, our American family has a history that is full of blemishes. Nothing about our history speaks to perfection. However, if you believe the ideals in the documents written by our founding fathers then you know and understand why you believe this is the greatest nation on the face of the earth, and why you are willing to defend the American dream.

We are divided as a nation, and most in government and the mainstream media want it this way. We have forgotten we are a nation of individuals, with different histories, cultures, and religious beliefs, but at the end of the day we must be Americans first. If we do not identify as Americans first, the division we feel now will grow to a place where it will appear that reuniting will be an impossibility, and with that, we will watch the demise of the greatest nation in the world.

The simplest way to describe/define E Pluribus Unum- which is the idea that from many, we Americans become one, is with a sports analogy.

Every team in the National Football League is trying to get to the Super Bowl. To accomplish this goal, they attempt to legally acquire the best players. Everyone must buy into the foundational principles of the organization. They learn and respect the good, the bad and ugly history of the team. There are different cohorts within the team. You have linemen, wide receivers, running backs, special teams players, and the quarterbacks. A similar group form the defensive side of the team. They come together as a team; melding into the offensive group and the other, the defensive group. Ethnicity, religion or political beliefs do not play a role in whether you can be a part of this team.

There is one guiding principle, and if everyone is working toward the goal of winning a Super Bowl, then the team can function as one, headed in the same direction. Just as every team member’s identity must be wrapped in the principles of their team so we must form our identify as Americans first.

We are a nation of diverse people with diverse ideas and skills. We don’t have everything in common with one another. If at our core we don’t know who we are and if we are not fighting for the foundational principles of this country then we are lost.

We are now dealing with people who identify more with their cohort than they do with being an American. We are African-American, Native-American, Italian American. We are men, women, transgender, gay, or queer. We are republican, democrat, or libertarian. We are he/him or they/them. We are more concerned about what your sexual preference is and what you identify as, never hearing you say you identify as an American.

On CNBC, a democratic politician voiced that he did not support a proposal put forth by the democratic party. The host of the program suggested he leave the democratic party and join the republicans since he felt the same way republicans feel about this new proposal.

This is not the correct answer and is part of the issue. Not every policy or idea put forth by either party is good for America. Once we understand that, our government will start to function the way it was meant to.

The politician believed that the policy was not right for America. In expressing his position, he demonstrated that he identifies as an American first.   

Where does the belief we should identify as Americans come from? It comes from those documents that outline our rights and how this country should function.

The Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

Even when these documents were written, and all men were not treated equally, the heart felt desire was that someday, because of these documents, all men would be treated equally. 

I think about those who hate these words and these documents. I think about some who think they could rewrite the Constitution with a few posts, because according to them, our Constitution is “trash”.

Then I think about the Tuskegee Airmen, who despite discrimination at home and in the armed forces, still wanted to join the military to fly, fight, and win to preserve this great nation and her foundational principles.

WASP, (Women Air Force Service Pilots) went through the same thing because they understood the American dream.

In her article, Dr. Ulrich states, that the essential pillars of democracy include respect for the rule of law; reverence for the Constitution and intolerance for “any violation of the Constitution or its process”.

These are the pillars that support the ideal of an American soldier. They are also the pillars for the citizens of this country.  We must develop a deeper understanding of these principles and why they are worth fighting for if we are going to preserve this America.  

Ramaswamy states, “America is the first and greatest country defined exclusively, because of a set of ideas, enshrined under a single Constitution. America wasn’t just a place. It was a vision of what a place could be.”  

Tuskegee Airmen and WASP were willing to go to war for a nation that was not inclusive of them and their worth. They saw the vision of what America could become for them, and if not for them, for their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren. They believed in the idea of what America could be.

In the words of Dr. Ulrich, “The guarantee of that service is internalization in every officer of the expectations embodied in the commission and the oath: patriotism, valor, fidelity and abilities; dedication to the protection of the letter of and values embodied in the Constitution; and a willingness to offer, if required, what President Lincoln called “the last full measure of devotion’ in its defense.”

Even though these words primarily apply to the expectations of our military members, the spirit of these words should be instilled in every citizen since our military is made up of citizens.

As Americans, we must embrace the spirit of the Tuskegee Airmen, believing that we must be willing to fight for and defend this country and its principles even when it feels the values and principles, we are defending, do not favor us. It can’t be said enough, America isn’t a place, it’s an idea. It’s a dream we all want to come true for every citizen. It’s a vision or goal we aspire to. Because they identified as Americans, the Tuskegee Airmen and others fought for the American dream. It’s time we start identifying as Americans and fight for our country.  

How do we fight for this dream, this idea called America?

Jim Fini always says, he would be willing to pay higher taxes if every able-bodied high school graduate, did a stint in the military. This would help the youth of today gain an understanding of what this country is made of and what many have sworn to defend.

Ramaswamy believes, mandatory service would help establish a shared national identity. He proposes we should also emphasize a non-military nature of mandatory national service. In addition to making national service something high school graduates become a part of, Ramaswamy proposes that high school students serve the nation each year during a portion of their summer break. The point in these proposals is to provide our young Americans, with an understanding of service before self and America first. It could potentially allow students with different backgrounds, histories, and ethnicities to work together in making and keeping America great.

If we are going to get students to engage in volunteer work, mentally and physically over the summer months; that help them understand what America is about; if we want to reap the benefits of young men and women serving honorably in our military for 2-4 years, we must start teaching them about America in school again.

According to Dr. Ulrich, the American education system is not producing such citizens. A 2020 national survey done by the American Public Policy Center, found a quarter of Americans cannot name a single branch of government, and only 51 percent could name all three branches. Civics in our education system has eroded to the point where it gets less than 10 percent of classroom time. Our future citizens will not identify as Americans, “support and defend” our Constitution, the American way of life, or the American dream if they do not know what they are defending.

This makes the why the most important part of getting every citizen to identify as Americans.

It's not too late, but there are times when it feels like it is. We are now being pushed to accept the next new cohort, transgenders. The push is strong and relentless.

That same kind of effort, starting at the local level, needs to be made so every citizen identifies as Americans.  We must know who we are, what we believe and why. If we don’t, then documents like the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence will become disposable and America will become an unrecognizable country. We will be made up of individual who are not willing to put our differences aside to protect this nation and the freedoms it provides.  We will remain victims and always focus on the negative aspects of our history. We will continue to blame someone else for our inability to succeed, and we will die a slow and unnecessary death.

When we identify as Americans, we understand that our mission is for the success of America, and the dream that is America. Like any team, there will be disagreements, changes in leadership, social unrest, and difficult times. We must never quit on the team, and no matter what, we must remain team America, fighting every day to keep the American dream alive, if not for ourselves, for our posterity.

We must embody the spirit of the Tuskegee Airmen, who fought for a country that had not accepted them as Americans, because they believed in the concept of what is the American dream; not a place but an idea and a vision they loved.

And they identified as Americans.