Is patriotism inevitably political? As I’ve learned what Provo has in store this year for its annual Freedom Festival I’ve been surprised at how political it all seems. Though I initially wished the city had gone in a more ideologically neutral direction, I’ve also been wondering lately if such a direction even exists.
This year’s Freedom Festival includes a few things that strike me as overtly political. For example, when I received the free Freedom Festival Magazine in the mail I was surprised to see the words “Family, Freedom, God, Country” printed just below the title. In retrospect I probably shouldn’t have been surprised. Provo, Utah, is supposedly one of the most conservative places in the nation, and I know there is a whole segment of the population that has no problem whatsoever with intertwining ideas about God, family, and country. Moreover, while some people might make the argument that these words aren’t in themselves all that political, I would disagree. They are keystones of the conservative lexicon and thusly connote the ideology that lexicon is commonly used to propagate. If nothing else there are also many people who would feel that “God” shouldn’t be construed with “country” (atheists are only one, obvious example), and I think the recent controversy over Proposition 8 has revealed the political weight of a word like “family.”
If the language used to describe Provo’s Freedom Festival left a faintly sour taste in my mouth, the performer list for the Stadium of Fire (which is a concert, firework show, and big part of the Freedom Festival held in BYU’s football stadium) left me in stunned silence. Of course the event includes the usual list of generic pop stars (this year it’s the Jonas Brothers), but in this case it also includes Glenn Beck. When I discovered this fact I realized I had apparently been under the wrong impression all these years; I thought the Stadium of Fire was supposed to be wholesome family fun. Bringing in Glenn Beck (a kind of poor-man’s Rush Limbaugh who, like Rush, peddles in the basest kind of demagoguery) clearly politicizes the event. I don’t care what he says during his performance, as a political figure he inevitably brings all the baggage of his public persona. In that light, I would never bring my family to listen to someone like Beck and its no wonder that this year’s event still isn’t sold out.
Despite my personal frustration, the point here isn’t really to single out Provo’s Freedom Festival but to use it as an illustration: one person or group’s idea of a (non-political) celebration can also be another’s definition of an offensively partisan activity. In this light it’d be easy to see other, less overtly political, performers at the Freedom Festival as expressions of one ideology or another. Someone like Miley Cyrus (who came in 2008) may seem fairly benign, but she does represent certain values and those values would be both painfully apparent and offensive to people who don’t agree with them.
So is it possible to celebrate patriotism without politics? More specifically, is it possible to find activities that accurately represent all, or at least most, members of a given community? I don’t know, but as I perused the list of performers from previous Stadium of Fire celebrations the answer seems to be a qualified no. In each case I can easily imagine people whose values would not be represented by the performers. (In fact in almost every case I can think of specific people in my actual community who would object to the guests and what they represent.) Because every statement, public figure, or event brings with it an ideological baggage, and because no community is ideologically homogenous, celebrations that purport to represent “our values” or “our community” end up being political statements that alienate people as well. In the end then, patriotism and politics may not be the same thing, but if recent events in Provo are any indication, they are inextricably intertwined.
Jim, I'll agree that claiming a single organization represents "our values" and "our community" is smug and assuming. (I would have loved, honestly, to see someone put up a Democrat billboard that read "Vote Your Values" right next to the Republican one that was on 9th East.)
ReplyDeleteI would also love to see the Freedom Festival step away from the pop and country musicians they've chosen through the years, musicians who have never represented my tastes. The only problem is that I don't know who else they'd choose - country music seems to be the only popular genre of music (as predictable and uninventive as it is) that still celebrates America.
And despite the fact that I have pretty mixed feelings about Beck, I can see why they chose him this year and last: 1. He's Mormon (a draw for this valley) and 2. He's someone who has a reverence for America's founders, something I don't hear much about as I listen to Stewart and Colbert. If you're looking at Beck only through their eyes (as your links indicate), of course he's not going to be impressive. Stewart and Colbert have the easy job - they're always joking. Beck has the harder task: He balances serious discussion (open to interpretation, I know) with humor (Beck quotes Stewart's line, "finally, a guy who says what people who aren't thinking are thinking," on the back of his own book, a book which, though generally mediocre, has a few funny sections).
Stewart and Colbert are admittedly funnier and wittier than Beck, but, if I may say, Beck wouldn't stoop as low as Colbert's Bush "roast" at the 2006 White House dinner, a moment of terribly raw cruelty that most liberals merrily overlooked or applauded. Beck, for all the times I've thought, "that guy says some really ignorant things," seems like a happy, kind, and optimistic human being.
That said (and whew! it took me a while to say it - and I hope you don't mind me sayin' - I write only because you build up interesting conversations), I personally think the show didn't sell out because of the pricing and, let's face it, the Jonas Brothers.
I think you're right that patriotism and politics are inextricably entwined. That's because everyone's ideas of patriotism are infused with their personal politics. That's why you have people saying that wanting to bring the troops home is not patriotic. Or like Tom Hanks saying that he thinks Mormons backing prop 8 is un-American. These people base these feelings off of their personal feelings of what it means to be patriotic.
ReplyDeleteThey're having a televised 4th of July show at the capitol building tonight and I'll bet you the majority of the performers and speakers will be people with more leftist leanings. (I know one of the performers is Barry Manilow, and he leans away from conservatism.) So it's not much different than the Freedom Festival. It's just on the other side of the boat.
I think you're right in that patriotism is intertwined with politics (seems like just about everything is these days).
ReplyDelete"one person or group’s idea of a (non-political) celebration can also be another’s definition of an offensively partisan activity." I think you're totally right about this. And it's going to happen everywhere from Glendora to Provo to Tulsa to Newark. It's unavoidable. But, as you have noted, since a lot of Utah, particularly Utah county, is notably conservative, an event like Stadium of Fire leans to the majority. What else could it do? We (meaning, any community, but in this case, Provo) try to attract and unite as many as possible. There will always be those who are offended and feel left out. That's totally unavoidable. I suppose every community does the best it can.
And, frankly, I totally agree with Jon about country music being the one genre which still regularly and openly supports America. The pop stuff is family friendly, for the most part, in terms of theme and lyrics and all of that. I would never take a five year old, for example, to a Panic! At the Disco concert. And country also tends to be pretty safe that way.
Anyway, I think the basic point of your post is probably true: patriotism and politics are so mixed together that it's going to be difficult to separate them, no matter what U.S. town you happen to be celebrating in.
Sorry, I got distracted, went off on a tangent about Beck, and I don't even care all that much about the guy! But I do think the idea you were digging at (not who is better, Beck or Stewart) is spot on: patriotism and political leanings are hard to untangle from each other. It's something worth being aware of wherever a single political culture holds a majority.
ReplyDelete(I also got off on a tangent about Glenn Beck; the post wasn't really about him but I couldn't help taking a shot at him anyway)
ReplyDeleteOne thing I wanted to add, kind of in response to everyone, is that while I think we all agree politics and patriotism are connected, this issue is troubling to me in Utah BECAUSE I actually love this area, but then I'm jarringly reminded that I don't quite agree with the majority of the people hear about most issues. I'm sure other people have that experience in other places (for example conservatives experiencing the events Rose described).