Danny De Gracia: Why It's Still Important To Celebrate The United States

This Thursday will mark the 248th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and a defining moment in history that set the stage for important political concepts like consent of the governed and the right of a people to pursue happiness. 

“We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be to be Free and Independent States,” reads the text of the Declaration.

The rest, as they say, is history. 

Many will have this Thursday off, since it is a state and federal holiday. This is a day that people see as a break from the pressures of work and often use it as a pretext to go to the beach, barbecue and consume copious amounts of beer. But the tragedy is that, like so many other days of reflection, we’ve debased the day off and forgotten why this moment in history is important to celebrate and think about.

Worse yet, in recent years, the reputation of the United States, both at home and abroad, has taken a hit. It is now routine for people on the domestic right and the left wings to say that our country is “evil,” “illegitimate” and “oppressive,” guilt-tripping the younger generations into being ashamed of saying they’re American.

“Correction, Danny. This is a world map, see here? This is North America; this is Central America; this is South America. You are here. You are not an American,” someone will say to me.

Yes, mahalo, duly noted. Exactly my point. We can’t even call ourselves “Americans” anymore without people wagging their fingers. 

“The name of American,” President George Washington said in his farewell address, “which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism more than any appellation derived from local discriminations … You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts of common dangers, sufferings and successes.”

There is power in a simple name, and when we say we are “Americans,” what we mean to say is that we are proud of and identify with this country, its history and its revolutionary principles which succeeded against all odds only by the help and devotion of so many selfless people. 

And yet, it has become unpopular to speak of our country, our history or our revolutionary principles in 2024. To say that one is “proud” of our country, in 2024, is to invite rebuke. The right place of a U.S. citizen, it would seem, is to somehow walk around ashamed of one’s past and one’s national fathers and mothers, never to speak of their deeds.

We are facing a local and national crisis of identity. We see an increasing polarization in politics that has two major factions believing in two very different pasts and futures for this country. We see foreign intrigue and foreign disinformation reaching into our daily discussions. We see American citizens leaving to live abroad in other countries, saying it’s easier or better there. 

And the Fourth of July? That’s just a free day off to detonate illegal fireworks, eat and drink and forget about how awful your job is and how annoying your boss can be, if only for a day. Is it any wonder if we approach the legacy and history of this country as citizens in that fashion, that we are so easily divided and so easily pit against one another? If we are ashamed of our country, then we will lightly set aside our country and its institutions. And that will be the end of us.

I’m a political scientist, so I will be the first to tell you that our country’s leaders over the years have done terrible things, sometimes empowered by terrible beliefs held by many people. But the most important story of America is not in the wrongs we have inflicted but in the rights we have as citizens and in the good things we have accomplished as a nation.

I’m proud to be an American, and I hope you will join me in saying you are, too.

Our country was founded by humans, and humans always make mistakes. But our country has been upheld for the last two-and-a-half centuries by people who have done their very best to make things right and better because they believe in the good that America represents.

The late state senator Sam Slom, who was a friend of mine, used to tell me for years, only half joking in the days before a Fourth of July, that he had been counting the number of U.S. flags being flown around Downtown Honolulu and noticed fewer up that year than the previous year. He was concerned that people had lost sight of the reason to celebrate the day, and suggested to me that things weren’t always like this.

I agree. 

So if you are an educator or a parent, you should take this Fourth of July to tell the younger generations that this day is important and that the United States of America, in 2024, is special. It is an enviable place to live and be a citizen. Tell them that brave men and women put their lives on the line every day to keep them safe, because they, too, believe that this country is special.

People don’t sacrifice themselves for something that isn’t special. During World War II, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt kept in her pocket a prayer that read, “Dear Lord, Lest I continue my complacent way, help me to remember that somewhere, somehow out there, a man died for me today. As long as there be war, I then must ask and answer, am I worth dying for?”

President Ronald Reagan on the anniversary of D-Day in 1984 said that America was “essential to the guarantee of freedom.” It was true then; it is still true today. Only in America do we have the space to advocate what others cannot have in other countries. Only in America do we have the freedom to tear down what others built up, if that is our choice. And only in America are we entrusted with the conscience to know what is wrong, and the freedom to choose what is right.

That’s worth still celebrating this Fourth of July. I’m proud to be an American, and I hope you will join me in saying you are, too.