LIBERALS CAN LEARN FROM LADY GAGA
Her Super Bowl show connected the dots between inclusion and our founding ideals
And a sequin-bedecked pop star will show them the way.” Not exactly holy writ. Yet in addition to a wildly entertaining performance at the Super Bowl, Lady Gaga has handed progressives the unifying principle they’ve struggled to identify and articulate. As Gaga demonstrated in her uniquely fabulous way, it’s time for progressives to reclaim patriotism.
Speculation was rampant that Gaga might use her halftime spotlight to make a pointed political statement à la Meryl Streep at the Golden Globes. What a surprise — and head-scratcher, initially — to find her starting the show with
God Bless America. Liberals would have rolled their eyes out of their sockets had it been a country star singing it. When she segued into This Land is Your
Land and then her catchy hits, including the anthem of acceptance
Born This Way, it was obvious what she was doing: connecting progressives’ zeal for inclusion to the nation’s founding ideals.
If accepted, Gaga’s gift can solidify resistance to the Trump administration and help shape a positive progressive identity for the long slog ahead. ‘ALL DIFFERENT STRIPES’ On MSNBC’s Hardball, host Chris Matthews was interviewing a woman who helped organize the massive women’s march on the day after the inauguration. He ticked off some of the marchers’ issues — reproductive rights, black lives, opposition to military aggression — and asked Janaye Ingram what unites them and the people behind them.
“You saw people of all different stripes, 5 million people globally, who came together on January 21st, marching for a variety of issues,” Ingram responded. “Yes, they’re interconnected. Why? Because we as women, we are inherently intersectional. ... We’re not single-issue people.”
Important concepts, but not what’s needed to bring people to their feet. Much more could have been said. Like: “We are united by our belief in the American ideal, by the story of a nation founded on the noble principle that all people are created equal and deserving of equal respect.”
Progressives have ceded patriotism to conservatives, much like the word “moral,” because conservative use and misuse of these concepts have made them radioactive to progressive sensibilities. That’s a lost opportunity to win over wider swaths of the public. Although the “m-word” is seldom uttered, progressive values are shot through with moral commitments. And they are deeply resonant with important aspects of what it means to be an American.
Take gay rights. Progressives rally to this cause not because of a lack of morals, but because of the deep moral conviction that it’s wrong to mistreat people on the basis of sexual orientation. Analogous moral commitments undergird support for the rights of women, racial minorities and followers of non-majority religions. ‘THE AMERICA I KNOW’ At the several rallies I’ve attended recently, I’ve been struck by the number of non-Latino and non-Muslim people standing with those most directly under the gun of the new administration. I’ve been impressed, too, by the explicit appeals to what our country is about — to patriotism — captured by the frequent assertion that the dark vision of Trump and adviser Steve Bannon “is not the America I know.”
As is the case with any movement, the progressive cause needs to be known for more than what it’s against. Resisting Trump is plenty for now, but the postTrump day will come — soon, we hope — when the movement will need to articulate a positive vision and identity.
What, in the long run, will progressives be known for, and what will attract more people to the cause?
Shutting down campus talks by people like Milo Yiannopoulis? Better to let him speak and disgrace himself, I say.
Violence in the streets and punches in the face for hateful provocateurs like Richard Spencer? Better to take the high road, which means fierce commitment but peaceful tactics and a benevolent spirit.
This is not only right but also tactically smart. Nothing would delight the president more than a pretext for a clampdown on dissent, with a level of violence infinitely more potent than anything that black bloc protesters can muster.
Progressives, it’s OK to wave the flag. It belongs to us as much as the conservatives who have made it their brand. We’ll know it means something quite different, and more valid, at a pro-immigrants march than it means as a stage prop behind Trump’s podium.