In times of intense geopolitical tension, growing unrest, and various existential crises, I think it is important to take some time to evaluate where things stand from a personal perspective. I most certainly believe the world would be better off if introspection was a little more ubiquitous.
I love my country irrefutably. It is important to separate the country from the state ("state" in this writing refers to the Government at any specific point in time). The notion of the country is something more abstract, more based in theoretical principle, and something that outlasts any particular implementation at any given moment in time. The country is something that represents the common ethos of a society, an asymptotic vision to work towards - it provides us core values which we can strive to work towards. In that sense, I firmly believe my country is a remarkable one, despite all of the flaws in its history.
It is indeed out of love that myself and many others can be critical of our state at times. It is because we deeply believe in the core principles that the country was founded on, because we deeply believe in creating a better society and broadly a better world for all of us. Our privilege as citizens of this country in which we are afforded so much cannot go unappreciated. Engaging in political discourse, activism, and taking meaningful initiatives are all actions emblematic of patriotism. I for one firmly refuse to be a passive beneficiary, an imposition to those who are less fortunate; I will engage in the constructive process of making a better country and better world in part because I am motivated and inspired by the ideals of my country. I am deeply inspired and moved by people like my maternal Grandfather. who fought and sacrificed much for democratic principles in the Second World War. I am deeply moved by the persistence of those who inhabited my lifelong home region of the Northeast far before I, persisting tirelessly to fight for the ideals of the nation and defeat slavery. I am deeply moved and inspired even by the existence of my country in itself, the triumph of my nation in its own revolution, and the ideals which were fought for in this conflict.
My love of my country does not have any impact on my love of the world or my belief in globalism. I continue to strongly think of myself as a citizen of the planet Earth first, a member of our global species and society, a member of an intergalactic lineage of star dust, and of the United States as a citizen second. To me, the core principles of the United States concern individual liberty and about improving the conditions of everyone. Thus, these two citizenships (the Earth, and the United States) are not only compatible but also intensely interwoven and mutally beneficial.
As I previously stated, it is utterly essential that at any given point the state is not conflated with the country. It is also essential that the citizens of a country, even when democratically ruled, are not conflated with the state. The amount of direct influence that any given person can have through strictly political means in the 21st century United States is unfortunately very small. Subsequently, the amount of say that any individual has on political issues under federal jurisdiction, which includes essentially everything related to foreign policy, is infinitesimal. The real influence that folks can have in our country is largely on more localized scales, and in many cases (if you will allow yourself to believe this - the media like to covertly assert that it isn't the case, for business purposes!) that influence is more immediately and strongly felt than that of the federal government.
I thus say loud and clear that I strongly condemn the recent actions of my Country's government. I strongly condemn the recent military initatives that it has taken against Iran, and I condemn many of the initatives of the state in this year 2025 so far. These actions do not represent the core values of the United States; they do not represent the people (and were likely blatantly unconstitutional in this regard); they represent nothing other than the contrived goals of the state - one iteration out of many on that journey towards asymptotic achievement of our principles, achievement of a nation where all are truly treated equally and given a fair shot towards life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. No one said that the journey had to be linear or straightforward. I can fully understand the frustration that many feel, that their country has abandoned them, that society at large feels as if it is moving in the wrong direction, etc. Yet my love and admiration for my country and belief in its principles is unwavered despite my disdain for what it has done recently. The implementation at any given point is illegitimate; it is the principles that we have written down and live by that truly represent what our country means.
I refuse to lose hope in that journey, that iterative process in improving and inching ever closer to the principles that our nation was founded on. We have overcome much as a nation and as a world through the past two centuries and change. I believe that our principles are as strong as they have ever been and that our journey towards them will persist and continue. I can only strive to have as much of an impact towards that end through my actions as possible.
Comments can be sent to: ln (at) levineuwirth (dot) org