Celebrating America When You’re Feeling Less Than Patriotic
A few years ago, I celebrated the Fourth of July abroad as a grad student, in a small city in England called Norwich, which feels a bit like it’s somewhere between Iowa City and Berkeley, California, a medieval university city with a rich literary history in a rural section of the country. I spent a lot of my time there fielding questions from my European friends about a few of the more insane aspects of living in the United States, like the amount of guns we have floating around on any given day or how difficult it is to pay for health care.
But when Independence Day arrived, I ran all over the city looking for red Solo cups for a beer pong tournament I coordinated (I eventually discovered they’re called “red American party cups”), and ended up buying multiple rounds at a Broadway-themed bar called New York, New York out of sheer love of country, heavily abetted by alcohol.
That July Fourth feels like a different lifetime now, and not only because my English friends are no longer immune from lamenting the far-right, pseudo-populist insurgence that buoyed Donald Trump into the presidency. It even feels harder to contemplate patriotism than it did only last year, during the first time the holiday came around after Trump was sworn into office. And it’s not just because the Fourth is falling now during a spell of particularly bad news, all of which underscores how much the president’s misogynist, racist, xenophobic rhetoric is hurting people and will continue to hurt more.
As we approach the midterm elections this fall and consider not just two more years of Trump but the wider political field, the sentiment seems to be spreading that this isn’t just about him. Immigration policies set in place long before Trump became president contributed to ICE’s ability to swiftly separate migrant families at the border; years of kowtowing to NRA money in Congress has stymied movement on gun control; four years ago, in 2014, Democrats gave up nine Senate seats after running lackluster midterm campaigns, returning Republican control to a Senate that will likely approve an ultra-conservative replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.
All of this can cast a shadow on holiday events characterized by American flag–festooned swimwear and fireworks. But here’s what not to do: Don’t just quash the discomfort. If more people are paying attention to the deeper, insidious corruptions that make America less than great (never mind great again), we’re all the better for it. Especially because that means change might be on the horizon—in New York, a recent primary election win in Queens and the Bronx by 28-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who ran on a deeply progressive platform and refused to take corporate donations, has galvanized the Democratic Party. There are many, many American activists and changemakers who are making our future look brighter. Take a look below at our coverage of some of them (many of whom are women, just saying) and a few other stories that make for non-depressing talking points on a July Fourth when you might be feeling less than patriotic.
28-Year-Old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Might Just Be the Future of the Democratic Party
Vogue’s interview with Ocasio-Cortez, a Democratic socialist, who explains why she was inspired to run, her leftist political platform, and where she thinks she can fit into the Democratic Party.
Will Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski Save the Supreme Court?
The news that Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring sent many on the left reeling, as the media considered what kind of likely ultra-conservative judge Donald Trump would choose. Michelle Ruiz examines whether pro-choice Republicans Collins and Murkowski will veto a nominee who contradicts their values.
Meet the Young Female Filmmaker With a Gun-Reform Super PAC
Sarah Ullman’s super PAC One Vote at a Time is making campaign videos for progressive candidates who are running on pro–gun control platforms—and helping them win. Our profile of the young filmmaker and some of the candidates she’s excited about.
Kamala Harris Is Dreaming Big
Abby Aguirre’s profile of Sen. Harris, a 2020 Democratic hopeful and Party leader who recently made headlines for a statement that the government should “probably think about starting from scratch” on an immigration enforcement agency—an issue quickly becoming a defining one for the upcoming midterms.
Puerto Rico Se Transforma: Five Months After Hurricane Maria, the Rebuilding Effort in Puerto Rico Is Powered by Women
Mariel Cruz returns to Puerto Rico for the first time after Hurricane Maria, which is estimated to have claimed about 1,000 lives there, and profiles some of the women who are rebuilding the island, including San Juan mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz and Las Tres Mosquiteras, a collective of women who have made hundreds of handmade mosquito nets during recovery.
Return to Standing Rock: The Unprecedented Indigenous-Led Spiritual Resistance Against the $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline
Rebecca Bengal gives voice to the No DAPL movement two years after water protectors made their stand in North Dakota and describes how activists are still mounting a humanitarian, environmental, and legal-resistance campaign.
Hundreds of Thousands Rally for Change at the Washington, D.C., March for Our Lives
Vogue traveled to D.C. for the March for Our Lives and reported on some of the young people, including Parkland survivor Emma González, who have created more national outrage and attention on the issue of gun control in the past few months than has occurred in the last decade.
