However, this year, the fervent brand of patriotism I noticed on social media sites brought back some memories about my recent trip to the 67th annual Palmetto Girl's State, as well a nagging question I've had ever since I'd heard I was going.
What is Americanism? Seriously, what is it?
If you're now asking the same question, don't worry. In the least pretentious way possible, you've probably never heard of Americanism.
The first I had ever caught wind of the philosophy was in a pamphlet I received after being nominated by my local branch of the American Legion Auxiliary. Already, I was intimidated by the term. I felt my insides churn as I read the document around a month before I left-- Americanism? What was that? Some kind of cult? I was under the impression I was about to be indoctrinated into dancing around a flag pole at odd hours of the day.
After spending a few days worrying about what would happen to me during the dreaded week, I recalled that the Internet was still a thing (I was a little confused, you know, because of the thought of the dress code and the afternoon tea). Determined not to have to kiss my dewy-eyed liberal life goodbye at the expense of a week's trip to Nowhere, South Carolina, I resolved to see if I could educate myself on what Americanism actually was before having to confront it head-on. Though I had a vague feeling of being too afraid to discover what I was getting myself into, I decided to look up Americanism once again in an attempt to unearth more about the philosophy before I risked it being shoved in my face unexpectedly.
I didn't discover too much; in fact, all my research brought me back to one basic definition. Apparently, the jist of Americanism is that it is "an ideology or belief in devotion, loyalty, or allegiance to the United States of America or to its flag, traditions, customs, culture, symbols, institutions, or form of government".
Most of the images regarding Americanism were tacky photoshopped pictures of bald eagles.
While it allayed some of my fears about accidentally accepting citizenship into the modern day Third Reich, to me, that answer was still extremely vague. Before I was to feel decent about the philosophy, I needed to know whether or not as it made room for a qualification that I find very important-- how concerned is Americanism with the improvement of the country it worships?
That qualification was absolutely vital to my acceptance of Americanism as a philosophy; I do not particularly adhere to the "best country in the world" nonsense, but I especially do not believe it is possible to be a patriot without awareness about the necessity of constant improvement and change. There is a lot wrong with America, and to ignore that fact is not love-- it is simply ignorance.
That qualification was absolutely vital to my acceptance of Americanism as a philosophy; I do not particularly adhere to the "best country in the world" nonsense, but I especially do not believe it is possible to be a patriot without awareness about the necessity of constant improvement and change. There is a lot wrong with America, and to ignore that fact is not love-- it is simply ignorance.
I want to tell you about my fervent beliefs about the necessity of constructive criticism as it relates to patriotism and love of country. I want to tell you how important it is to never put one's homeland on a pedestal, how important it is to see people as citizens of the Earth and not as citizens of a specific nation, and how upsetting it is that Americanism is going against all that.
Unfortunately, I still don't know enough to stake that claim, as much as I might feel like I'd be right in doing so. Girls State was a nice experience, a tad too open-minded to be rabidly patriotic; as such, I hesitate to say the organization was clearly broadcasting an overly rose-tinted message about the merits of our country.
But I guess my own thoughts don't really matter, particularly because my general impression remains that the whole thing was really more about Lilly Pulitzer phone cases and singing than it was about actual American politics. And while I can't speak for Palmetto Boy's State, the truth about Americanism is still a secret locked away in the minds of the Auxiliary's higher-ups, minds that were typically too preoccupied with the dress code to divulge their knowledge.
What is Americanism? We may never know.
What is Americanism? We may never know.
