To America, Today

As a young adult poised to inherit the world — one though seemingly in disarray as a new order replaces the old — I’m filled with excitement, curiosity, and wonder. Above all, I find myself reflecting on the political future of the American left — that is, if there will be one at all. The 2024 election results displayed a significant shift to the political right all across the country. From deep blue California to the conservative strongholds of Nebraska and North Dakota, President Donald Trump captured the support of Americans all across the nation. This article is not a recount of November, but rather an argument for revitalizing an American identity rooted in American exceptionalism — one which champions America’s greatness in neither past nor future, but in her unwavering fortitude through the present.

What I’ve learned — and what the left must learn from Trump’s election — is that Americans yearn for more than mere economic salvation. They crave something greater than material prosperity; they desire identity, a distinct and unifying American identity that instills purpose in their existence. Each of us, born on this land or naturalized by its laws, is American and possesses not merely a right but a fundamental duty to define this nation — apart from its history — as we see fit. And if, as I fear, the left continues to dismiss any positive sense of an American identity — or, at the very least, offer an identity that transcends mere identity politics — we shouldn’t find ourselves surprised that many turn to the only individual who seeks to sanctify and redeem Americans of their supposed sins. The American left’s inability to articulate a substantive vision of an American identity begs the question, “Are we a nation of states? What is the state of our nation?” President Trump has offered his answer, one that won him another term; now, the American left must respond with its own, lest the country’s soul-searching leaves it, us, and me behind.

Perhaps it’s best I begin this article with a series of anecdotes I’ve heard from peers across both campus and in Chicago, my home city: “I’m embarrassed to tell people I’m American;” “I’ve felt ashamed for having the American flag;” “America is evil;” “This country has never cared about me;” “What has America given us?” Though only a small portion of the country, the sentiments expressed in the quotes above should not come as a surprise to many reading this article. Some may even find them amusing. For many of my peers across Amherst, America is a nation whose existence is defined by its sins. Their narrative recounts America as the only nation responsible for travesties across the globe and often denies the culpability of individuals both at home and abroad. Even worse, they may excuse outright immoral behavior — stacking the courts for mere political purposes, name-calling Republicans as “weird,” and slogans such as ACAB (All Cops Are Bad) — as “defensible” in the name of American villainy. We on the left have seemingly neglected positive aspects of American identity due the present-day outcry over the nation’s past sins. However, these actions need not shape this nation’s identity in its entirety, nor should we find ourselves ashamed or guilty for taking pride in our identity. I seek to deny neither evil done by or on behalf of America but plead to you all that, as Americans, we must seek redemption not through violent retribution and condemnation but impassioned mercy.

I urge you, Americans, to not simply forgive this nation and each other, but also yourselves. In the words of the late Hannah Arendt, “Forgiveness is the key to freedom and action.” When we forgive, we relinquish the chains of the past that inhibit our ability to usher in the present: to take hold of what it is, informed and shaped by what was. I worry the left has abandoned this gift of forgiveness, to neither forget nor abandon the past, but to move forward and reclaim the present — through birth, as we renew the world, so too do we renew the nation.

Our country’s political foundations, as detailed in its founding documents, define us not by who came before but by who we are today, creating a nation whose renewal lies in each successive generation’s “truths,” which they declare to be self-evident. As each new American enters this nation, we continue to hold the present, shaped by the past, as we hurl toward an uncertain future. Why I love this nation, and why you, yes you, American reading, should love this nation, is that we’re defined not by our ancestral lineage but by the randomness of our birth; we’re defined not by who we were, but by who we are, who we choose to be. We are a nation defined neither by blood and soil nor war and death but by birth, creating an enduring tension known as the present.

We as Americans live in a paradox where the very “soul of the nation,” in the words of former President Biden, finds itself in an endless struggle to answer a question that has existed since this nation’s inception: What does it mean to be American? And in the absence of an answer from the left, we’ve given credence to the authoritarian right to redefine — in its own bastardized image — what it means to be American. So in these parting words, I urge you all who are Americans to consider this: Embrace the identity bestowed upon you by birth. Utilize it, share it, but most importantly, define it, because if you won’t, someone else will.