A New Democracy in America

If the Left has patriotism, it’s one that knows America has never been great for most of the people living in it—and knows that loving a country doesn’t mean keeping people out of it or justifying slaughter abroad. The Left’s patriotism is about fighting for an altogether better and fairer country, where unity means more people, rather than less. As Heather McGhee, president of the progressive think tank, Demos, recently told Ezra Klein:

“I’m very patriotic because I believe if America is exceptional it’s because of the great diversity of our people, and I believe it’s time for a new story about who we are as a country that says our diversity is our greatest asset. That who we’re becoming demographically—a pluralistic nation with no racial majority—is not the unmaking of America but the fulfillment of it … In his best moments, the president was able to do that—to wrap that plurality in the flag.”

Obama did that again in his speech last night. And as the crowd reactions Wednesday show, a new Democratic left is emerging to fight for a new democratic country—with no more wars, no Trump in the White House and a commitment to making America and the Democratic Party something neither has been before.

I want to see our Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club take the lead in the battle for a new democratic country. UC