Immigrants and Patriotism

A message to Generation Z

This post is inspired by David Brooks’ column titled The Necessity of Patriotism (this is a gift link) in today’s New York Times. He has penned it as a letter to Generation Z:

Only 23 percent of you said that patriotism is very important or that having children is very important.

Brooks goes on to provide some perspective on the challenges and triumphs of previous decades. I found his take balanced and refreshing.

His words made me think about where I come out on the pessimism<—>optimism scale. And my mind flew to the many children of immigrants who are, I think, taking the lead in this phase of American renewal.

Ask us immigrants about feeling patriotic about the country we chose to be adopted into. And ask us as well about the particular helplessness and heartbreak we feel when the country we chose does not live up to its promise and potential.

In particular, ask our children, be they Barack Obama and Andrew Yang or Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley. Through their parents these leaders (and others like them) know what life is like elsewhere and the reasons why their parents believed it was worth coming to the US, and most important, why the country is worth fighting for.

Nikki Haley’s podcast interview by Bari Weiss is also worth a listen.

I say to the young discouraged/pessimistic Zoomers, don't give up. Each generation has to fight for what it considers important. The only difference is that each generation's fight is different. Feminists of an earlier era had to fight for the right to education and jobs. Today's feminists have to fight, among other things, for fair working conditions and work-life balance. The past is rosy only in hindsight.

Each one of us has the power to decide if the future will be bleak. Giving up will guarantee it will be bleak. So, please, let’s not give up!