Make Some Noise

Among the most patriotic things you can do is speak out

Credit: Getty Images

This is one of the times in our nation's history when patriotism is essential. Not the hot-dog-and-fireworks kind of patriotism, but, on this Fourth of July, patriotism that calls on all of us to vigorously defend the right to question authority.

On this revered American holiday, which celebrates a rebellion for freedom, we must pay close attention to an authoritarian leader hell-bent on destroying a bedrock principle of American democracy: speaking truth to power.

We see examples every day — the latest being a sitting president demanding and receiving bribe money from a major media company. It was a brazen abuse of the power of the presidency to silence truthful reporting and intimidate the press. Bending the knee and cowering before an authoritarian has quickly become the norm for many of our institutions: law firms, universities, the press, and others.

If we accept the current state of presidential intimidations, without so much as a whimper, our republic will spiral deeper into grave danger. Our democracy will be in tatters. Look at the damage inflicted in less than six months. I speak not just of journalists, who are on the front lines of this fight, but for every citizen, who has the right — and what is increasingly becoming an obligation — to question the actions of an autocrat. That, my Steady friends, is patriotism.

This Independence Day represents the 249th birthday of our beloved nation. July 4th is the anniversary of the ratification of the Declaration of Independence. It is the country’s founding document, written to King George III, informing him that the American colonies were now independent states, no longer under British colonial rule.

It was the fledgling nation’s first official act of defiance: speaking out against a tyrannical monarch. Speaking out against tyranny, against injustice, against oppression is part of the bedrock of this country. It is one of the most demonstrable forms of patriotism, so much so that it is outlined in the First Amendment of the Constitution:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…”

Founding Father Benjamin Franklin believed strongly in its fundamental necessity. “Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins.”

Franklin understood that free speech works only if the citizenry exercises that freedom. When serving as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, Franklin was asked what form of government was being adopted. “A republic,” he quipped, “if you can keep it.”

If you can keep it. Franklin knew a republic could not be self-sustaining, that the People must work to maintain its principles. They would have to be civically engaged. They would have to speak up and speak out.

Patriotism is displaying vigorous support for one’s country with a deep sense of loyalty. It can take many forms. Patriotism might be as simple as flying the American flag on your porch, or as committed as joining the military. For most journalists, including this one, it was becoming a reporter.

I believe being a conscientious journalist is synonymous with being a patriot. The current administration would have you believe those things are in opposition.

Trump maligns the press, calling it “the enemy of the people.” One might suggest he look in the mirror. He used his hatred for the media as a campaign strategy, verbally attacking the press more than a hundred times in the run-up to the 2024 election.

Demanding answers from the powerful is one of the most patriotic things an American can do. Asking if Iraq had weapons of mass destruction was patriotic. Questioning President Nixon about his knowledge of Watergate was also patriotic. So was pressing the Johnson administration about what was actually happening in Vietnam.

What is unpatriotic is silencing those asking, whether they be a journalist or any other member of society. Attacking dissent and treating those who ask hard questions as a threat … that is anti-democratic. What if Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, had been silenced or jailed?

There was a powerful post on X today tackling the issue of reclaiming patriotism. “Refusing to speak the truth doesn’t preserve unity — it protects power. It’s not treason to question the myth. It's [a] betrayal to stay quiet.”

There are many things we must do if we are to preserve our republic, based on the principles of freedom and democracy. But speaking up and speaking out — and defending others who do — will help. It‘s the least we can do to preserve any semblance of truth, justice, and the American way.

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Stay Steady,
Dan