Fighting against the far right forces of the Republican
Party and their auxiliary white supremacist media makes attempts to
appropriate notions of nationalism into a liberal mold a compelling
short cut for Democrats looking for easy clapbacks and viral
RT’s. The temptation to
promote a kinder, gentler, "woke" patriotism is
understandable.
But
what is the collateral damage of this approach? From the
justifiably horrified response to mass shootings to the jingoistic
worship of all things military, what is the long-term downside of
lifting up #VetsForGunControl and retired military brass as a
counter to the vulgarity of Trumpism? Can the Left – including
liberals – embrace a more holistic and anti-imperialist moral
grammar that avoids short cuts and rejects the idea of nationalism
altogether?
We
are joined by Maggie Martin, co-director of About
Face.