I, too, want to understand the "complexities of America" and I enjoy reading McCullough (et al) and watching Ken Burns. I want to affirm America's stated (but too-often neglected) ideals of liberty and justice for all. But we need a word safe from misappropriation by scoundrels and MAGAts. How about Humanism (with an American pedigree)?
The Necessity of Patriotism (Even in Times Like These)
America is rebounding, but will cynicism stop the renewal?
...Sure, there was some of the resentful, rotten patriotism you now see at MAGA rallies, but there was also a more mature kind of patriotism, the love you have for your country when you know its flaws. It was a curious kind of patriotism, one that wanted to understand the full complexities of America, that wanted to read David McCullough, John Hope Franklin and Doris Kearns Goodwin, and watch those Ken Burns documentaries.
Personally, that kind of patriotism gave me a sense of identity and belonging. It ripped me from the prison of the present and placed me in a long procession of Americans — the dead, the living and the unborn. It broke through the walls that separate one person from another and gave me a sense of membership in a community so varied and so much to be treasured that I have never been able to hate Americans who differ from me politically... David Brooks
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