the uses of patriotism

There has been a rhetorical change in the second wave of marches across America in response to the “immigration reform” measures being debated in Washington. News reports are finding Mexican flags and Chicano Power imagery being replaced by the Stars and Stripes and appeals to the immigrant nature of the United States. The change was too dramatic not to have been organized- fliers for rallies here in Santa Barbara county advised people to bring American flags. It was a good move, even if the various stripes of anti-immigration voices are calling it cynical.
It is a sad, and frankly racist double standard that the right employs in vilifying expressions of Mexican or Chicano pride. It is part of the great forgetfulness of this country that people set aside the fact that Italian, Irish, Polish, Jewish and other nationalisms all coexist with American patriotism- and that they have all been seen as threatening or subversive by nativist forces in the past. America is strong enough an organizing concept that it can mingle with, even embody, diverse national-cultural expression.
In order to make this case, however, you have to wave the flag. Otherwise, it will continue to belong to those who believe, deep down, that to be American, is to be white, Christian, homophobic and anti-Government. In fact, they are the minority in America. Let’s make sure that everybody knows that.