What does it mean to be American? This question is intriguing because the answer differs based on who you ask. When I think of that question right now, I quickly remember the image seared in my mind from nearly two weeks ago.
Sauntering through the hallowed halls of Congress, a traitor brandishes the Confederate flag proudly. Why wouldn’t he? After all, he was basically guided in by the “equitable” police response.
What was so concerning was that it was the first time the flag had entered the building, an exclusion of certainty since 1865. And during this, the could-not-come-sooner-ex-President watched in a tent with glee, a man that more than 74 million Americans voted for two months ago.
A little over two weeks ago, Republican terrorists stormed our capitol, forcing Congress to halt the process to confirm a peaceful transfer of power.
The image is harrowing because it symbolizes an unspoken truth: conservative, traditionalist America — who claims to believe in the protection and maintenance of America’s original constitutionalist values — are the ones rejecting America’s own institutions. “It’s 1776,” wrote freshly elected and QAnon deluder U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert; to her, this was the embodiment of America.
Alea Iacta Est. In ancient Rome, this phrase means, “The die is cast.” It comes from the moment when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon River to declare the war against Pompey. When Caesar crossed the Rubicon, though, he became a tyrant for it as an act of treason — it was deliberately “un-roman.” And it led to the collapse of Rome. Despite that historical reality, the first name we think of when we think of Rome is Julius Caesar — he is the modern embodiment of Romanism. Romanism is cemented by un-Romanness.
Today, we run a similar risk. What it means to be American is threatened to remain the image of terrorists brandishing the Confederate flag alongside terrorists with the American flag, smashing through the windows of America’s institutions. The die is cast for us, and the worst thing we could do is allow this definition to stick, or worse, slither by unchallenged.
Instead, we have a moment. A chance to redefine what it means to be American.
As they stormed the Capitol last week, the dramatic irony was palpable: the same un-American demagogue lambasts the other side of America as un-American. By the other side, I mean the side that fights for the lives of individuals regardless of race. The side that pursues policies and restructuring of the economy to protect the backbone of the nation and to guarantee a livable quality of life for all. The side that Mike Pence astutely tried to chastise as one that “wants to make the rich poorer, and the poor more comfortable.”
To them, this other sect of America, the one that pursues change is un-American. Mind you, positive changes with regard for human life are un-American. And they’re right
This is because it takes America further from its point of inception; “We the people” was originally intended for only White men. Every single attempt to change it, small or large, has been resisted with the fury of the dominant class. Every successful change strays further from the vision that the Founding Fathers had. The vision that the un-American Americans
shattered the glass of Congress for. While many, including myself, seek a nation where it is American to make things better, not living in oppressive tradition but instead altruistic progress, the history of America suggests otherwise.
A contradiction arises. Those who think of themselves as American are un-American, while simultaneously leading a successful campaign to label the opposite side as un-American. When we seek universal healthcare and better economic equity, it is soviet Russian. When we seek the regulation of corporations and of military grade weapons, it is Orwellian.
This must be resolved.
It is time for the side pursuing change to abandon our inhibitions. We’ve seen how this fear of being un-American can compromise the success of movements. I myself worry about it too. But now, I posit the question: why should we have this fear, when those who fostered it are un-American themselves?
I say enough. Alea Iacta Est. The die is cast. When the terrorists at the Capitol broke in, they reminded us of their true un-American roots, their treasonous nature like Caesar did. When we remember America centuries from now, we have an opportunity to have the — modern — definition remembered as something new and beautiful rather than the cruel history it has had up until this point.
To redefine what it means to be American means to recognize the hypocrisies that lie in our history; those who want to keep America as it was have stooped to levels of rejecting its own institutions just to prevent “un-Americans” from making the nation a better place for all. So be it. Be un-American, if that is what they, of all people, want to call it. Throw caution to the wind in the pursuit of betterness.