Can the Democratic Party Rediscover Political Patriotism as a Virtue?
Musings on Liberalism
I think this will develop into an exploration of historical Democratic appeals to national integration and cohesion, just musing for now.
In the 21st century, the Democratic Party faces a fundamental challenge: how to articulate a vision of national unity that aligns with its claimed liberal values. But what does it mean? What, in fact, is national unity as a distinct thing, separate from general humanitarian sentiment, neighborliness, or internationalism? Can Democrat liberals articulate the rhetoric of national uniqueness?
If the Democratic Party fails to reclaim a form of the language of national commonality and harmony rooted in liberal ideals, it risks permanently ceding the language of affinity and solidarity to those substituting shared resentment for shared dedication and love. This failure would also leave Democrats unable to galvanize the American public against threats to U.S. power and liberty, including those posed by foreign actors who will smartly seize on our historical social weaknesses, manipulating racial and ethnic tensions for geopolitical advantage.