Harvard has released a study in its own unique way of celebrating the Fourth of July with America. Harvard Kennedy School Assistant Professor David Yanagizawa-Drott and Bocconi University Assistant Professor Andreas Madestam argue that Fourth of July celebrations tend to turn people into Republicans and help advance the GOP in elections. I would differ. I think Harvard studies tend to push people toward conservative candidates.
The study suggests that Republicans benefit most from patriotic celebrations: “Fourth of July celebrations in the United States shape the nation’s political landscape by forming beliefs and increasing participation, primarily in favor of the Republican Party.” They go on to say that these celebrations dovetail with conservative causes and themes. They warn “there is a political congruence between the patriotism promoted on Fourth of July and the values associated with the Republican party. Fourth of July celebrations in Republican dominated counties may thus be more politically biased events that socialize children into Republicans.”
In fairness to these professors, they are simply giving the results of a survey that shows the influence on individuals in terms of their political views. Moreover, they suggest that Republicans do in fact celebrate the Fourth of July more rigorously than do Democrats.
I came from one of the most liberal families on Earth and we always celebrated the Fourth of July. We were taught it was a celebration of our rights and our success as a free and pluralistic nation. As a father, I go crazy on the Fourth of July and, over Leslie’s annual protestations, buy enough fireworks to take over a small nation.
I actually would have been more interested in the difference not in how we celebrate the Fourth of July but why we celebrate the Fourth of July. I often talk to the kids about the struggle for liberty from free speech to free exercise. Others seem to celebrate America’s might and dominance. I would have been more intrigued by a survey on how people view the holiday.
There is a danger that some may take the study as a reason not to participate in patriotic celebrations after reading lines like “There is no evidence of an increased likelihood of identifying as a Democrat, indicating that Fourth of July shifts preferences to the right rather than increasing political polarization.”
That is only true if citizens allow the Fourth of July to be associated with Republican values. There can be a self-fulfilling prophesy in such studies if liberals view these celebrations with greater suspicion. I am appalled by the decision this year in Chicago to cancel the Fourth of July fireworks in Chicago to save money. This is the one holiday that unites us all — a celebration of not just our history but our pluralism and values. I grew up going to the fireworks every year on the beach with my family. We joined thousands of Chicagoans of different races and religions and backgrounds. It summed up for me what is it to be a citizen. I am ashamed of my home city in its decision to cancel the fireworks. Any Chicagoans are welcomed to join the Turley clan in McLean for a true patriotic pyrotechnic extravaganza.
John Adams, no conservative, once stated “I believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival,” he wrote his wife, Abigail. “It ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other…”
From one end of this continent to the other . . . even on Harvard yard.
Source: USNews
David,
Recognition that the US is running a global empire is not some trendy meme. It’s real.
And it’s bankrupting millions of Americans that haven’t even been born yet.
One musn’t forget that the Democrats prosecuted every major war in the 20th century.
Yet again, a study that attempts to overlay party affiliation with ideology. If you look at individuals and talk to them about their beliefs, I think you’ll find only a marginal correlation between their beliefs and the party for which they choose to cheer (and vote). The 4th of July, for good or ill, is rather empty of content. For those who view the government as a paternal or material figure which has yet to learn what happens when you spoil your children (many liberals), the 4th stands as a moment to celebrate that view. For those who prefer unbridled capitalism unconcerned by the effects of unchecked greed (many conservatives), the 4th stands for a celebration of individual ambition and self-determination. But, what the Harvard study may point to is something else altogether. There is a growing thread among liberals that I know in which the United States is viewed, mainly, as a force for oppression here and abroad, and as the standard-bearer for “evil” capitalism and empire-building. Despite many living champagne lifestyles, they rail against the evils of the “monetization” of labor, oppression of the working class, and vast swaths of poor who cannot help but be poor.
Anon Nurse,
You’re welcome. I think that, structurally (due to human nature), we will never be able to solve the problem of executive overreach by electing a President. It might be possible if the issue were the focus of the presidential campaign, but it’s hard to see that coming about anytime soon (and I doubt it would work anyway – the next guy would just grab all of the power back).
Slartibartfast, Thanks for that… The perfect post…
…so, on that note… here’s a little “honesty”…
Is Torture In America’s Future As Well As In Our Country’s Past?
by Dan Froomkin
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/04/is-torture-in-americas-future_n_889359.html?page=1
Excerpt:
Glenn L. Carle, whose book “The Interrogator” went on sale last week, says he’s opposed to the prosecution of any CIA agents.
“I believe the most guilty are the small number of policymaking officials — actually, it was 10 people running the country, from the Department of Justice, the Office of the Vice President and the White House — who ordered that the Department of Justice write these exculpatory ‘you can do whatever you want’ memoranda and willingly subverted the Constitution,” he said.
“We don’t need more laws. The laws are clear,” he aid. “That was all fucked up by John Yoo, and Addington and Cheney.”
Carle believes a wide-ranging public investigation would be an education for the American people.
Once the nation understands what took place, “what we need to do is repudiate what happened and strengthen the values that underlie our laws.” he said.
“If you get the truth out it makes it harder for people to do this again,” he concluded. “There is no guarantee. But I think the best defense we have is the truth, and hiding nothing.”
Greenberg said an official inquiry would also lead to “a national discussion about the Constitution.” Specifically, she said, “we need to really think about what we’ve learned in this last 10 years.” The key question would be whether we need more effective checks on executive power.
“Torture was the giant threshold that we stepped through that in a way made all these other things okay,” she said, ticking off a number of Bush-era activities that Obama has not only continued, but in some cases expanded, such as surveillance, illegal detention, the use of isolation on prisoners and the treatment of American citizens as “enemies of the state.”
Constitutional scholars, she noted, are becoming increasingly concerned.
end excerpt
Loving America the Al Franken Way
Raff,
The study didn’t find out anything of significance – they used rain on the 4th of July as a proxy for participation. What they found is probably that areas that are predominately liberal (like the northeast) are more likely to have rain in July than areas that are predominately Republican (like the south). My opinion is that conservatives are more inclined to profess their patriotism (often in very unpatriotic ways such as painting their political opposition as unAmerican) while liberals are more inclined to demonstrate their patriotism (by fighting for civil liberties and protesting against wars, for example…).
Elaine,
The term “rigorous” (at least in my world) is an absolute – something is either rigorous or it is not. You can’t be a little bit rigorous any more than you can be a little bit pregnant… Furthermore, (as you were pointing out), the term has no meaning in the context in which it was used. My advisor would have never let me put a meaningless word like that into any professional writing – in my opinion, it is an indication of a lack of rigor in the study…
Buddha,
Jesus was a long-haired liberal freak – I doubt that he’d be going to Republican barbecues (it seems like he said something about eyes and needles and camels that was kind of anti-capitalist, if I recall correctly…).
I cannot understand how a study can determine that watching fireworks makes someone more likely to be a Republican. I am with Professor Turley and others above when I state that most in my family are Liberal and we have always celebrated the 4th of July with fervor and respect.
What does “more rigorously” mean in that context?
It probably means Jesus shows up at their barbeque in person, Elaine.
That and they call everything “extreme”.
As in, “Would you like some extreme barbequed ribs, Jesus? We only used ribs from the right side of the cow. It goes well with the extreme potato salad.”
Some people seem to think that wearing a pin of the American flag on their lapels/shirts or hanging an American flag on the front of their houses or calling people who protest our country’s getting involved in unnecessary wars unpatriotic is a proof of their patriotism.
*****
“Moreover, they suggest that Republicans do in fact celebrate the Fourth of July more rigorously than do Democrats.”
What does “more rigorously” mean in that context?
“Conservatives probably do consider themselves more patriotic. They also spend a lot of time yammering about morality and responsibility even there are visible holes in those fabrics for them. Given that this was done by junior faculty at a notoriously weak part of Harvard and sourced in a dying news magazine that survives on misleading college ratings, this deserves mockery more than a defensive posture.” -Rich
I agree. Coincidentally, I stumbled on the following article while shopping in our local food co-op the other day… In light of the topic, it might be worth skimming…
Pledging Allegiance to Peace
A Quaker argues that patriotism is deadly, no matter where or why it is practiced
by Tony White, from Friends Journal
July-August 2011
http://www.utne.com/Politics/Pledging-Allegiance-To-Peace.aspx
To break from patriotism may seem shocking and painful. But I daresay that many people in the United States reading this do not really love the United States, though we think we do. What we really love is an idealized version of the United States. We love the values of equality and liberty in the Declaration of Independence. But these values did not originate in 1776; they existed long before, and will continue long after the United States is gone. And the actual United States has never really lived up to these ideals.
Inequality and lack of freedom were written into the U.S. Constitution with the institution of slavery, and have since continued through various forms of oppression. To this, we might retort that what we love is the tremendous courage and perseverance of the people of the United States in overcoming these injustices. But why give credit to the United States for what resides in the human heart? Have not people from all corners of the earth exhibited this same spirit? Most great reforms are initially opposed by governments, and thus much of the people’s perseverance has actually been subject to persecution.
Some assert that patriotism keeps countries together. But why presuppose that this is good, that the status quo ought to be maintained? That this is even offered as a response reveals the depth of our indoctrination and directly reflects the view that the powerful have always endeavored to inculcate in the masses through patriotism—that whatever upholds the current establishment is good and necessary. If patriotism alone were keeping a country together, it would be an artificial basis propping up an outlived tradition. Political establishments should be maintained only as long as they are just and beneficial. A sound social organization should be able to self-persist organically, rendering patriotism superfluous at best.
If we want to achieve world peace and a form of society not based on violence, the time for change is now. But if we eradicate patriotism, what unifying principle can replace it? One answer is humanism. It unites not a particular group, but all people. (end excerpt)
I have known many liberal Democrats over the course of my life and ALL of them were rabidly patriotic. In fact, with RARE exception, they were more educated on the Constitution, the history of this country, and the founding fathers than any conservative I’ve ever known. Not making a judgment here, just sharing my personal experience.
This is correlation being touted as causation, based on cross-sectional survey data. Conservatives probably do consider themselves more patriotic. They also spend a lot of time yammering about morality and responsibility even there are visible holes in those fabrics for them. Given that this was done by junior faculty at a notoriously weak part of Harvard and sourced in a dying news magazine that survives on misleading college ratings, this deserves mockery more than a defensive posture.
I’ve long felt that a main problem of what could be broadly termed as “The Left” is summed up in “too hip for the crowd.” I’ve been guilty of it myself in my life. Even supposing this study is credible, I think it misses the point. Some on “The Left” are ashamed to show patriotic feelings in line with the mass of the citizenry and so leave the field open for Right Wingers to impose their own brand of zealotry on the celebration and claim it as their own.
This study has been debunked on the Fogbow:
http://www.thefogbow.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=64&t=6127
This study is flawed and as one commenter pointed out it is probably nothing more than a complicated way of saying that there are more rainy days on the 4th of July in the northeast than there are in the south and southwest.
I as well agree with Adams….Lets shoot the works….
“John Adams, no conservative, once stated “I believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival,” he wrote his wife, Abigail. “It ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other…”
I believe John Adams also said we should celebrate on July 2nd, the day of the actual vote for independence.
Then again, the document wasn’t actually signed until August 2nd, 1776, so who’s to say.
Regardless, we New Yorkers aren’t allowed to play with fireworks.