Modern Patriotism in Crisis: National Identity, Nostalgia, and the American Myth
Let’s talk about modern patriotism in America.
Not the sticker-on-a-truck kind. Not the TikTok “1776 vibes” kind. Not the brand with bald eagles screaming over trap beats.
I’m talking about the kind that shows up whenever something too American gets remixed—like a rapper flipping a country song, or a beer ad without a bearded guy chopping wood.
Which Version of American Identity Are We Talking About?
The one you think was stolen—while standing on land that was, quite literally, stolen?
The one where “real” culture is Budweiser and country music—never mind that your Bud’s owned by Belgians, your truck was built in Mexico, and the icon you swear you’d die for is a 150-year-old French statue named Edith, holding a welcome sign at the edge of New York Harbor?
That Edith. The Statue of Liberty.
But sure. Let’s talk about “getting back what’s ours.”
Modern Patriotism and the Cultural Discomfort Behind It
Discomfort with the fact that America isn’t just white, male, and draped in camo anymore. Never really was. But now? We’re way past pretending.
You don’t get to cosplay oppression while wearing a flag like a cape and drinking imported beer.
That’s not patriotism. That’s cosplay. That’s nationalism in drag. Revisionism with a mullet—Business in the front. Whitewashed in the back.
Pickup Trucks vs. the Statue of Liberty: How American Symbols Are Hijacked
Two icons of American symbolism: the pickup truck and the Statue of Liberty.
Pickup truck and Statue of Liberty as contrasting symbols of American patriotism
One’s been romanticized as rugged Americana. The other, a literal monument to welcome and reinvention. And both—hijacked. One by ad agencies. The other by opportunists.
The truck ad sells you power. The statue offers you hope. One asks for horsepower. The other asks for humility.
Guess which one’s trending.
Selective Patriotism and the Problem of Historical Cherry-Picking
You want the Panama Canal back? Cool. Then France gets Lady Liberty. Britain gets the Beatles catalogue. Mexico reclaims Texas. And Elon Musk goes back to South Africa.
You can’t cherry-pick history. The “take back what’s ours” crowd never wants to revisit slavery, colonization, or broken treaties—just the parts that made them feel strong.
Is It Nationalism or Cultural Nostalgia Driving Modern Patriotism?
This was never about restoration. It’s about revenge. About undoing modernity. About squeezing today’s world back into yesterday’s fantasy—when everything felt controlled, white, male, American.
But even that fantasy is crumbling. Former MAGA voters are waking up with whiplash. Even Capitol rioters are calling the movement a cult.
Redefining American Identity in the Age of Nationalism
You can’t shout about “American greatness” while rejecting the very people and symbols that define it—especially the Statue of Liberty herself.
This essay is a reflection on the contradictions within modern patriotism, cultural nostalgia, and the myth of national restoration.
Was it ever really yours to begin with?
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Gene Scott grew up on an Illinois tenant farm where kitchen-table tales mixed magic with hog farms and strip mines. After 40 years in East Tennessee, he’s witnessed nature’s raw power—and its quiet grace to heal what’s broken.
You Can’t Have Your Cake, and Edith, Too
Modern Patriotism in Crisis: National Identity, Nostalgia, and the American Myth
Let’s talk about modern patriotism in America.
Not the sticker-on-a-truck kind. Not the TikTok “1776 vibes” kind. Not the brand with bald eagles screaming over trap beats.
I’m talking about the kind that shows up whenever something too American gets remixed—like a rapper flipping a country song, or a beer ad without a bearded guy chopping wood.
Which Version of American Identity Are We Talking About?
The one you think was stolen—while standing on land that was, quite literally, stolen?
The one where “real” culture is Budweiser and country music—never mind that your Bud’s owned by Belgians, your truck was built in Mexico, and the icon you swear you’d die for is a 150-year-old French statue named Edith, holding a welcome sign at the edge of New York Harbor?
That Edith. The Statue of Liberty.
But sure. Let’s talk about “getting back what’s ours.”
Modern Patriotism and the Cultural Discomfort Behind It
Discomfort with the fact that America isn’t just white, male, and draped in camo anymore. Never really was. But now? We’re way past pretending.
You don’t get to cosplay oppression while wearing a flag like a cape and drinking imported beer.
That’s not patriotism. That’s cosplay. That’s nationalism in drag. Revisionism with a mullet—Business in the front. Whitewashed in the back.
Pickup Trucks vs. the Statue of Liberty: How American Symbols Are Hijacked
Two icons of American symbolism: the pickup truck and the Statue of Liberty.
One’s been romanticized as rugged Americana. The other, a literal monument to welcome and reinvention. And both—hijacked. One by ad agencies. The other by opportunists.
The truck ad sells you power. The statue offers you hope. One asks for horsepower. The other asks for humility.
Guess which one’s trending.
Selective Patriotism and the Problem of Historical Cherry-Picking
You want the Panama Canal back? Cool. Then France gets Lady Liberty. Britain gets the Beatles catalogue. Mexico reclaims Texas. And Elon Musk goes back to South Africa.
You can’t cherry-pick history. The “take back what’s ours” crowd never wants to revisit slavery, colonization, or broken treaties—just the parts that made them feel strong.
Is It Nationalism or Cultural Nostalgia Driving Modern Patriotism?
This was never about restoration. It’s about revenge. About undoing modernity. About squeezing today’s world back into yesterday’s fantasy—when everything felt controlled, white, male, American.
But even that fantasy is crumbling. Former MAGA voters are waking up with whiplash. Even Capitol rioters are calling the movement a cult.
Redefining American Identity in the Age of Nationalism
You can’t shout about “American greatness” while rejecting the very people and symbols that define it—especially the Statue of Liberty herself.
This essay is a reflection on the contradictions within modern patriotism, cultural nostalgia, and the myth of national restoration.
Like this:
Related
hillpoet56