Julie’s Journal – Special Fourth of July Edition
Patriotism Doesn’t Need a Parade. It Needs a Backbone.
Happy Fourth of July.
Today we’ll wave flags the size of pickup trucks.
We’ll wear enough stars and stripes to qualify as temporary national monuments.
We’ll grill hot dogs, argue about potato salad, and pretend that setting off explosives in suburban neighborhoods is the purest expression of freedom ever conceived.
God bless America.
But before the fireworks begin, I’d like to ask an uncomfortable question.
What exactly is patriotism?
Because somewhere along the way we’ve confused patriotism with branding.
A bigger flag.
A louder slogan.
A campaign hat.
A military flyover.
A politician wrapping himself in the Constitution while quietly treating it like an optional user manual.
That’s not patriotism.
That’s marketing.
Real patriotism is remarkably inconvenient.
It demands honesty when lying would be easier.
Humility when power is intoxicating.
Service instead of self-promotion.
Respect for the Constitution—even when it gets in your way.
Especially when it gets in your way.
The founders did not risk everything so future generations could crown an elected king every four years.
They had already tried that experiment.
It was called England.
They intentionally built a government that argued with itself because they knew concentrated power eventually corrupts whoever holds it.
Checks and balances weren’t bugs.
They were the feature.
Which brings me to Donald Trump.
In my view, nothing about demanding personal loyalty over constitutional loyalty is patriotic.
Nothing about attacking judges because they refuse to rule in your favor is patriotic.
Nothing about treating journalists as enemies rather than watchdogs is patriotic.
Nothing about suggesting that elections are legitimate only when you win them is patriotic.
Nothing about blurring the line between public office and personal enrichment is patriotic.
And nothing about encouraging Americans to distrust every institution except one political leader strengthens a democracy.
That weakens it.
You don’t have to agree with every Democratic policy—or any Democratic policy—to recognize that democracy itself is bigger than any political party.
The Constitution belongs to Republicans.
It belongs to Democrats.
It belongs to Independents.
It even belongs to the people who yell at each other in Facebook comment sections.
Imagine that.
Real patriots defend institutions that will outlive them.
Authoritarians demand institutions serve them.
There is a difference.
One builds a republic.
The other builds a personality cult.
Some people hear criticism of Donald Trump and assume criticism of America.
That’s like assuming criticism of a restaurant means you hate food.
No.
Sometimes you criticize something because you love it enough to refuse watching it decline.
That is how I feel about this country.
I love America too much to pretend everything is fine.
I love America too much to confuse loyalty to one man with loyalty to 250 years of democratic ideals.
I love America too much to shrug when public servants become political props, when expertise is mocked, when truth becomes negotiable, or when outrage becomes governing strategy.
Patriotism is not measured by how many flags decorate your front porch.
It’s measured by whether you still believe the rules should apply to everyone.
Including presidents.
Especially presidents.
Real patriotism asks harder questions.
Are we protecting voting rights?
Are we preserving an independent judiciary?
Are we defending a free press—even when it publishes stories we don’t like?
Are we teaching our children that character matters more than charisma?
Are we choosing leaders because they elevate the office—or because they entertain us?
Those questions matter far more than who has the biggest flag.
Here’s the irony.
America has never been great because we believed we were perfect.
America became extraordinary because generation after generation refused to settle for “good enough.”
The abolitionists.
The suffragists.
The labor movement.
The civil rights movement.
Marriage equality.
Every one of those advances began with people accused of being unpatriotic simply because they demanded America become more faithful to its own promises.
History has a funny habit of rewarding those who expand freedom rather than those who merely pose beside it.
So today I’ll celebrate America’s birthday.
I’ll celebrate the radical idea that ordinary citizens—not kings, not billionaires, not presidents—are the ultimate owners of this Republic.
I’ll celebrate a Constitution that was written precisely because our founders expected ambitious people to seek more power than they deserved.
Most of all, I’ll celebrate the millions of Americans who quietly practice patriotism every day.
Teachers.
Election workers.
Military families.
Scientists.
Journalists.
Public servants who tell the truth.
Judges who follow the law instead of public opinion.
Neighbors who help one another without asking how they voted.
That is America.
Not the shouting.
Not the branding.
Not the spectacle.
Just ordinary people choosing integrity over applause.
The fireworks will be magnificent tonight.
Tomorrow morning there will be smoke, empty soda cans, and someone in every neighborhood wondering why they bought the giant package instead of the small one.
But democracy doesn’t end when the fireworks do.
It starts again tomorrow.
And patriotism?
Patriotism isn’t proving how loudly you can say you love America.
It’s proving, every single day, that you love the Constitution more than any politician who temporarily occupies the Oval Office.
That’s the America I’m celebrating.
Happy Fourth of July.
May we never confuse loving our country with surrendering our principles.
Julie Bolejack, MBA
The Mindful Activist
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