Ari’s Angle: We are the true patriots.
The day after the Fourth of July, I drove to Lawrence and listened to the Hamilton soundtrack; an oldie but a goodie that I often turn to on long drives. While there are many moments during the musical that I find myself teary eyed, I cried during “Right Hand Man.” Those who know the soundtrack may be a bit confused as to why that song solicited such a reaction, and honestly I was too. After crying for a good solid three minutes, I realized it was in reaction to the current social-political landscape and, specifically, the passage of the “Big, Ugly Bill.”
I was a recipient of Kansas Medicaid (KanCare) and SNAP for most of my life. For all of my K-12 schooling, free and reduced breakfast and lunch guaranteed me two meals a day each school day, which was incredibly important for my food insecure family. When I lived in my own apartment for all of 2021, I relied on food stamps to put food on my table while working two part-time jobs and attending high school full-time. I was kicked off of KanCare once I turned 19, because Kansas is one of the only states that hasn't expanded Medicaid. I am a maximum pell grant recipient and rely on financial aid to pay for college.
Because of these circumstances, I spent the holiday weekend torn. On one hand, I wanted to celebrate America’s freedom and the brave service members who helped secure it. On the other, I struggled to feel joy; the only thing I could feel was grief. Grief for where we could be as a nation if the presidential election had gone the other way. Grief for the millions of Americans who are going to lose their healthcare, who were ripped away from their families by ICE and those preparing to leave the only home they’ve ever known because it’s no longer safe for them to live in the U.S.
To any of you who feel the same way, please know you are not alone. The moment we are in right now is incredibly troubling. It can force us into despair and make us feel ashamed of living in our country. While I encourage you to grieve and process every emotion that passes you, I also urge you to hold onto your patriotism.
If you’re like me, the “p word” triggers a fight or flight response in you. It’s a word some don’t want to claim, nor associate with. That’s because Trump has not only taken away the country we all deserve, but the joy we once felt towards it. We cannot let him do that.
Patriotism is often tied to MAGA; it’s even taken as synonymous with nationalism. These words are not the same.
Patriotism is when you feel devotion to your country; nationalism is when you betray it.
The latter will always fail because it’s an ideology that elevates one culture above the thousands of cultures that built it. In order to accomplish this task, leaders will degrade and destroy the very people the country needs to function.
Our country is based on a belief that when a diverse set of people unite together with common interests, peace and prosperity will overcome fear and scarcity.
Our country is our people, yet Trump and his allies willingly sell America’s people down the river in the name of “protecting our country.”
They forget that without the American people they are endangering, deporting and murdering, there is no country. That’s why they will always lose. Even if not tomorrow, next month or next year, people will eventually look back on this time and condemn this period of our nation’s history.
We are the true patriots—individuals willing to point out our flaws and fight for a better tomorrow.
And while it’s hard to recognize in all of the noise, our fight is the most patriotic cause someone can take part in right now.
This is the 5th edition of Ari’s Angle, a summer of 2025 opinion series written by guest columnist Ariona Cook, shared June 2025. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. The cover image below can be found at the Pexels website,
https://www.pexels.com/photo/low-angle-photo-of-american-flag-2174720/
