The Patriot

Before I left for the States I managed to solidify a chaperone position on the fourth grade field trip to Rosario. To be honest I really had no idea what I was getting into. To me it sounded like a great opportunity to get to see another province of Argentina and Nic never says know to a chance to travel. In reality this was an academic/ social experience for our children to explore Argentine History already taught in schools and to be exposed to a different lifestyle than what we had in Grand Bourg. Our school, both primary and secondary, incorporates a lot of camping and trips  into their programming for this exact reason. Student formation is not exclusive to education. Rather, it is multidimensional and intentionally incorporates life experience and diversity. Without trips like these, many of our students may never receive these opportunities otherwise. To me, youth development that incorporates all of the person is greater than our traditional styles of schooling that I see in the U.S.

For the past sixteen years Instituto Evangélico Argentino has taken their fourth grade class to Rosario, Santa Fe for the Annual Flag Ceremony. There, hundreds of students from across the country gather in uniform with their oversized Argentine flags, Argentine pins, and pledge allegiance to the flag in unison. They sing songs of their country like the National Anthem while their parents and spectators gather behind them and cheer. Flags all across Rosario are raised as neighbors sit on their balconies to watch. This celebration happens on the center of the city between major monuments that form the shape of a ship almost. Behind is the eternally burning flame which symbolizes the unity of the country and the lives sacrificed for freedom.

In front of the crowd is the Monument of the Flag, also called the Tower. Inside the Tower contains a memorial to Manuel Belgrano, creator of the Flag, and an elevator that takes you to the top where one can oversee the river and the rest of the city.

It was on the shore of the Paraná River where the flag was first raised in celebration of Argentina’s independence from Spain in 1816. After the celebration students normally visit the neighboring city of San Lorenzo to learn about the war and explore historical sites such as the Franciscan mission where Jose de San Martin (liberator of Uruguay, Peru, Argentina, Chile, and Paraguay) had slept. Incredible to say the least.

I resided in a strange place between nostalgia and awe. They reminded me so much of what is was like to be in elementary school; singing on the bus to pop songs, not knowing how to brush ones’ own hair, wanting to touch, wanting to explore, the curiosity, snuggling up for girl talk in the bunk beds fortress, and unknowingly seeking approval from your elders. It was pure bliss at times especially on our day of play. A dozen kids rushed to embrace me with joy before we walked over to the basketball courts.

“You have all these children now."Such loving people I hope they continue to be. I translated Lutheran camp graces before meals. We sung my broken spanish graces that resembled Superman and Jaws.

Surrounding us was beautiful sand and the Parana River kissed every night and every morning by Mother sun herself. There was not one day that this felt like actual work.

My children taught me patriotism by the enthusiasm in their eyes at 6:30am on a Friday as they prepared to brush their teeth for the ceremony. Every single one of them with eyes lit like an eternal flame preparing to carry their flag into a parade of other flag bearing schools.

We were greeted by parents upon our arrival to the monument. Majority of the cheering section were Grand Bourg supporters. From abuelos to primos, love flowed in from all over. These parents were so thrilled to see their children at the Promesa a la Bandera Ceremonia, a morning filled of joy and delight. There was live entertainment keeping the crowd lively. The entire audience sung along to whatever came out of the band’s mouth. It was truly beautiful as thousands of people gathered from all across the country merely to celebrate the flag. And as we sang songs about the skies being the inspiration one could look up and see exactly how the celeste y blanco mirrored the soft clouds coddling the sun while the deep sky blended into this canvas. Increible.

#RealTalk

To be honest when I first arrived in Argentina I was skeptical of things like this. I noticed immediately how often I saw the Argentine flag incorporated into graffiti and art. Every night at midnight the National Anthem is played on the radio stations. Every single holiday is related to the Independence of Argentina and students are taught folk dance routines and made to wear traditional costumes at festivals. Displays of patriotism were like triggers to me. They brought me back in a state of discomfort as I imagined what the U.S. flag meant to me back home. I think of people who still dress like Confederates and reenact the Civil War. The American flag feels like it has been conquered by white- nationalism and every time it waves another innocent Black person is murdered by the police. Yes, I recognize this may sound absurd to many U.S. citizens reading this. However keep in mind that we just celebrated Juneteenth, the day African Americans (though should be all Americans) celebrate the liberation of an enslaved people which was only 152 years ago. My point here is, I did not understand what patriotism should look like because the declared “patriotism” exposed to me back home tends to be overwhelmingly toxic .

With that being said for the past year I have had to really sit with this concept of people loving their country and not terrorizing other people that live in it. Well, that too may be a bit of a stretch considering previous posts about femicide, anti- abortion legislation and domestic violence in the nation. But you will not find Argentines burning down the Mosque in Palermo or defiling a Jewish cemetery. The police do not exert unneeded power during protests nor does the military occupy space in nearly every other country. When your nation manages to generally stay in their lane, it is much easier to have an undying love for your flag without having to be fed a military industrial complex. How different is it for the love of a nation to not be bound to being coerced to also love war under the illusion of freedom.

For a number of years now I have struggled with the concept of patriotism. We have this very misinterpreted way of telling the story of American history. We go from the underdogs to wolves and begin to do things to others that we obviously did not want done to us. Those in power continue to colonize the term patriot used to justify acts of discrimination against people who were seeking the same liberties European colonizers sought upon their arrival. The difference here is that we are now the reason why many have to seek asylum away from their place of birth.

Embarrassingly enough what I am slowly beginning I comprehend this year is that the liberation of My America was, is and will continue to be bound to the liberation of all Americas. The representation of many of these American countries did not always resemble what they are today. Those who declared their freedom in countries such as Argentina also had a large colonizing class of people that came from Europe. And even after their liberation, the European elite were still very much maintained power. For me, some of the major differences are how they responded to the racial differences in their countries. Argentina for example abolished slavery in their constitution which was first written in 1853, before slavery was abolished in the United States. There were not developments of mass genocide of indigenous people though the marginalization of non- white people may still be present.

What the US does and continues to do to non- white people are daily acts of injustice. Whether it was illegal internment camps for Asians and Asian Americans, travel bans against predominantly Muslim- Arab nations, mass incarceration of black and ethnic- Latino people, or flat out discrimination in the workplace, we continuously participate in acts of violence against ourselves and our neighbors. I struggle with patriotism because the way we show our affection to our country is through manipulating our narrative and claiming any rejection of American crimes is hate towards soldiers and freedom.

My elementary school did a wonderful job of teaching us all the folk songs and making sure we all pledged to the flag even though most of my classmates’ families came from an exploited nation. We learned all about the founding fathers, the civil war, “slavery”, manifest destiny and the Native American groups of our state. We were brainwashed to believe that we were all made free even though we had a war less than a hundred years later proving that we weren't. We were assured reservations were just allocated plots of lands to Native people and sharecropping was better than slavery. Imperialism was glorified as if it were some sort of Pokémon edition to catch all the already claimed land of brown and black people. Rather, land was spoken about as if it were just empty and culture was optional. Genocide was only taught exclusively when reading about the Holocaust. The intentional mass murders of people who would fail a paper bag test did not get a name. They barely got a chapter in the history textbooks. But I digress.

I struggle. I am cautious of the word patriot because of the connotations made with it in the era that we are in. I struggle with being patriotic to a country that has benefited off of the bodies of my ancestors. I am conflicted in the present day relationship my country has with people in the margins both domestically and abroad. How can I be patriotic when my country cannot even admit people like me existed as anything other than slaves and Rosa Parks? I want to be able to love my country without my criticism of our imperialistic behavior being associated with hating our troops. I want a love that is not limited to freedom but also to the diversity and various cultures that are celebrated all over the country. I want a love that is demonstrated through universal healthcare, affordable higher education, and justice for people of color both living and dead. But maybe I am selfish for asking my country to love its people. All of them.

#ReclaimMissionary