America was founded by progressives. People who wanted a better life, not just for themselves but for everyone in our society. On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence inspirationally began with the proclamation, "We hold these truths to be self-evident.”

Somewhere along the way in the last 244 years, especially the last 4 years, we’ve lost sight of what our founders saw as “self-evident.” We’ve allowed the mantle of patriotism to be diverted from the “truths” of our Constitution and twisted into something unrecognizable.

Like many people, I was simultaneously amused and horrified by the scene this week of Mark and Patricia McCloskey defending their St. Louis “palazzo” with guns, while barefoot. How tone deaf do you need to be to respond to a peaceful protest about white privilege and violence against minorities by wielding an automatic weapon? This is what you get when you subsist on a steady media diet of Breitbart, Infowars and Trump tweets.

Although the incident thankfully morphed into an internet meme rather than a shoot out, it stands as a stark visual statement of how intractable our politics have become. We can’t live in a society where one side of the political spectrum feels their lives are threatened by racist police officers and the other side feels their lives are threatened by people vandalizing their colonial gate.

It’s time for us as citizens of the world’s greatest nation to say "enough.” Time to take back patriotism from those who have misappropriated it in the guise of racism, discrimination and xenophobia. Time to declare it’s unacceptable to sell out our soldiers. Time to revive that declaration and make those “truths” as “self-evident” as they were over two centuries ago.

So in recognition of Independence Day, here is a refresher on what today is all about:

All people are created equal. Full stop. Everyone. Regardless of… anything.
They are endowed by their Creator (whoever that may be, regardless of religion or no religion at all) with certain unalienable rights, including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That includes not being shot by the people intended to protect us — it also means not having your possessions looted by angry mobs.
Governments derive their powers from the consent of the governed. It is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government. In other words, peaceful protests are not only allowed, they are a patriotic duty.
When a long train of abuses and usurpations (need I elaborate) evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.

In other words: Vote. In. November.

Reclaiming Patriotism