One of candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s most memorable assertions during his campaign for the Republican nomination for U.S. President was that we need to clarify what it means to be an American. He argued that Americans face a national identity crisis, as we are searching for meaning and purpose that for generations had been amply provided by faith, family, patriotism, and hard work. The challenge he put before us was to revive these values. This sentiment, coming from a second-generation Indian American, ought to be an inspiring and encouraging example of colorblind civic nationalism.
It’s amusing and a bit sad, however, that a percentage of right-wing Americans (a percentage that is grossly inflated by the media) claim that the only true Americans are those who are descended from white Europeans. This is wrong for two compelling reasons: First, because Americans like Vivek Ramaswamy are passionate and highly informed believers in the American Constitution and the importance of America’s Western European heritage, and the idea that he or his progeny would undermine that is laughable. Second, because most of the people filling the streets and fomenting leftist chaos over recent years, and who are disproportionately represented at the top of these subversive movements, are Americans who are themselves descended from white Europeans.
This is why civic nationalism, a term that seems to have left the discussion over American identity almost as quickly as it entered, ought to be dusted off and revisited. The case must be made that civic nationalism, colorblind but uncompromising in its adherence to traditional American values, offers our best hope to unify Americans.
Part of the problem with civic nationalism, notwithstanding that the term itself makes for a poor soundbite, is that it has been poorly defined and subjected to multiple interpretations. As such, it has come under attack from all sides. Ethnic nationalists consider civic nationalists to be naïve, incapable of recognizing that cultures are inextricably connected to race, or that some cultures are incompatible. They believe that multi-ethnic national solidarity—as expressed in civic nationalism—is impossible.
Multiethnic, multicultural globalists, for their part, also view civic nationalists as naïve, but for the opposite reason. They consider civic nationalists merely by virtue of their nationalism to be pairing up with “white nationalists,” possibly unaware of their complicity or possibly even deliberately camouflaging their own racist tribalism. After all, how can it even be possible to be a nationalist if you aren’t a racist?
But the whole point of civic nationalism is to reject racism while embracing patriotism. It expresses the quintessentially American ideal of the melting pot. It expresses—although not nearly forcefully enough—America’s history of assimilating immigrants into mainstream culture.
Which brings us back to the questions and observations Vivek Ramaswamy presented repeatedly during his presidential campaign.
What is American culture? What defines the American identity, and how can it be defended? What is America’s tradition of assimilation, if not the preservation of a unique core culture that nonetheless constantly evolves and incorporates dazzling new ideas from around the world, while retaining, undiminished, the foundational values of individual freedom, free enterprise, and European Christian heritage?
It is a tragedy that America’s civic nationalists have become a barely recognized and often stigmatized movement. For one thing, once you escape the corridors of the chattering classes or the cadres of extremists, small in number but vocal and politically connected, you find that the label civic nationalist describes the majority of Americans. To the extent their exposure to unrelenting globalist, anti-nationalist, anti-American, and anti-white bombast coming from academia, media, entertainment, and politicians hasn’t corrupted their hearts, most Americans love America. They love it just the way it is, imperfect but always evolving and improving, offering opportunities to everyone willing to work hard, a big, sprawling nation with all kinds of different people who are united by the American dream.
To understand the potential of civic nationalism to peacefully unify Americans even in the face of great economic and geopolitical challenges, one must compare it to the shared agenda of Social Democrats and corporate globalists. Consider their rejection of the traditional nuclear family, their climate change agenda, their rejection of a meritocracy in favor of race and gender quotas, their choice of enforced equality instead of equality of opportunity, and their support for mass immigration—all of which undermine the American middle class.
The common thread in all of these policies is that they will harm middle- and low-income Americans, regardless of race. Children need a father and a mother. Climate change policies that enrich corporations and empower leftist bureaucrats will impoverish everyone not wealthy enough to be indifferent to the crushing cost. Abandoning meritocracy in favor of quotas will destroy America’s ability to compete and innovate, at the same time as it will breed cynicism and alienation. Mass immigration drives down wages and bankrupts social services.
A revitalized and clearly defined civic nationalism incorporates opposing alternatives to every one of these pillars of corporate globalism and promotes them without apology and without reservation. The traditional family is the backbone of society. Fossil fuel, hydroelectric power, and nuclear energy are absolutely necessary to grow a healthy and prosperous economy, not only in America but even more so in the aspiring nations of the developing world. Immutable, colorblind standards are the only fair and legitimate way to allocate opportunities in all aspects of society. Immigration must be strictly regulated to protect the interests of American citizens, not global corporations.
Emphasizing these policies—pro-family, pro-conventional energy, and pro-meritocracy—has not been the common currency of civic nationalists. Instead, with good reason, they’ve been stereotyped as waffling on immigration, lukewarm on climate realism, AWOL on expressing the problems with race and gender quotas, and, if anything, antagonistic to pro-family sentiments. No wonder they are barely relevant. The civic nationalist movement, despite its potential to become the center of gravity in American politics, lacks a critical mass of leaders with the voice and visibility to give it an undeniable presence.
The appeal of nationalism ought to be obvious. It is natural to yearn to be part of something bigger than oneself. This is why racial division is the most potent weapon that globalists have to divide Americans. Which invites the question: What is “white?” Is it skin color or cultural affinity? A civic nationalist has to confront this question squarely. Americans don’t have to be white. But they do have to be American. This means adopting America’s values and traditions and feeling part of an American culture that has its roots in white European civilization. But civic nationalists do not care about skin color. They care about preserving American culture and welcome anyone who shares that goal.
The notion of a shared national destiny can be colorblind, and a civic nationalist has to emphasize this while at the same time not succumbing to the premises and the language of the Left. For example, “colorblind,” “assimilation,” and “meritocracy” are not code words for racism. They are noble concepts to live by; they are the inclusive premises of American civilization and America’s vitality, and they must be defended at all costs.
Americans can unify as a single, colorblind culture. There is no reason why any American citizen, of any color, cannot read the founding documents of America and be inspired by them. There is no reason why any American, regardless of his ethnic background, cannot appreciate America’s unique commitment to individual rights and free enterprise, private property, and understand its transcendental value. There is no reason why Americans of all races cannot view America’s history not as “deeply flawed,” but instead as an illustrious story of evolution from an inspiring beginning to what it is today, through perpetual refinement—a nation of unparalleled opportunities for everyone willing to work hard.
America’s destiny, according to civic nationalists, can be to remain a leader and an example to the world while caring for its own citizens in a way that inspires other nations to do the same. America’s destiny can be to invest in practical, prosperity-oriented projects at home and abroad, to maintain technological and military preeminence, and to blaze a trail into the solar system. This is a vision civic nationalists must make clear that every American can share.
Americans have been betrayed by their elites. The globalist agenda of open borders, unfettered movement of capital, the rejection of traditional values, the rejection of meritocracy, the deliberate and misanthropic overreaction to “climate change,” and the heedless accumulation of debt to fund the development of foreign economies—including the Chinese military—has been accepted and promoted by virtually every major institution in America: unions, corporations, academia, K-12 public education, the media and entertainment business, nearly all Democrats, and far too many Republicans. They ignored and attempted to cover up the negative consequences of all these policies. In doing so, they fragmented our culture, crashed our birth rates, and elevated the cost of living while they deprived Americans of good jobs.
Absent the achievement of national unity through a civic nationalist political realignment, Americans face ongoing and worsening civil strife accompanied by demographic and economic decline. Civic nationalism is the only alternative to this bleak future for America. It offers a revived American identity built on compassion paired with accountability, inclusion through assimilation, and optimism based on faith, family, patriotism, and hard work. It is the model for a golden age. The choice is ours.