By Ithi Joshi
In law school, I took a seminar called Citizenship in Legal and Theoretical Perspective, designed to discuss citizenship and national identity through the lens of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. We considered obvious responses like fostering nationalism and securing national borders. But then we focused on what U.S. citizenship symbolized outside of the United States.
The American passport, we argued, was like a membership card to a very exclusive club, a privilege reserved for only the best of the best. Arguably, everyone vies for American citizenship, from the common man to foreign-born Fortune 500 CEOs, politicians of the highest office, athletes in their prime and A-list Hollywood artists.
As kids in school, we were taught the United States was founded by citizens who emphasized democracy, free will and equality. As kids at home, we were taught we could achieve anything in this country, more than our ancestors could have ever imagined, if we just worked hard enough. These ideals sound great on paper but are they even true today?
Thomas Jefferson, founder of my alma mater, famously penned the Declaration of Independence on behalf of the original 13 colonies in 1776. In it, he argues all men are born with certain unalienable rights like life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and that is the role of the government to safeguard such rights. He then proceeds to list several grievances against King George before declaring independence from Great Britain and dissolving all allegiance and political connection to the British Crown.
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Lately, I think about that law school discussion and wonder what it means to be an American citizen today. Today’s political, social and economic climate seems in direct conflict with the three basic rights outlined by Mr. Jefferson and our country looks more like it did on the brink of 1861 than celebrating independence in 1776. There is deep polarization and we argue over everything and anything: equitable taxation, women’s health rights, the efficacy of vaccines, the correct food pyramid or the best foreign policy; it’s like we no longer have any common ground. All while the American spirit and very fabric of our society continue to be violated by divisive leaders on both sides of the aisle. Too bad we are not under the leadership of Abraham Lincoln today whose main goal as president was to save and preserve the union at any cost.
As a concerned citizen, then, I find it hard to celebrate America’s upcoming semiquincentennial. Instead, I present a list of my own grievances for our federal government (both current and immediate past):
1. The rule of law has been decimated into mere theory as our nation’s democratic norms have vanished. The Department of Justice, the nation’s top law enforcement agency set up to work on behalf of the people, has become a pawn to pursue personal vendettas against the administration’s political foes. Federal law enforcement murdered an unarmed nurse at a protest in Minnesota. Members of the violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, have largely been pardoned or not charged to begin with.
2. The press has been attacked in unprecedented ways via repeated pressure to change factual stories, actual criminal investigations, frivolous lawsuits and damaging funding cuts for public media. The FBI raided a reporter’s home as part of an investigation into a government contractor and the FCC threatened to revoke ABC’s TV licenses after a late night host made a joke about the First Lady. The president has filed a personal lawsuit for defamation against the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The Associated Press, founded in 1846, was kicked out of the White House press pool and banned from future briefings for its editorial views. Most recently, a number of senior journalists at CBS were fired after they refused to change a certain 60 Minutes story and kowtow to the new editor-in-chief, an ally of the current administration.
3. The president(s) has repeatedly lied to us or conveniently omitted key facts. He refused to share his tax returns (they were only released after a legal battle) while the rest of us pay more than our share of taxes, and then some. He cried fraud during the 2020 election but no evidence has been found of voter fraud in any of the 50 states, to my knowledge. Another president publicly stated he would not interfere with the DOJ’s prosecution of his drug-ridden son and then quickly pardoned him after he was convicted. He also failed to share that he was not mentally fit to lead the country after a disastrous debate during his reelection bid. He continued vehemently lying to the American people until senior Democrats forced his withdrawal.
4. We have alienated longstanding allies, created new foes and started sudden, haphazard international conflicts. The 2021 U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan was a disaster, ending in a Taliban resurgence. The immediate past and current Departments of State have failed to accomplish anything noteworthy on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The current administration raided Venezuela and captured its president without any due process. Cuba’s leader has been threatened with a similar fate. Then, it attacked Iran without a clearly stated goal and continues to fling the United States in a conflict that several Republican congressmen have voiced concerns over. The G7 nations, historically strong allies, have been sidelined and do not appear to support any recent changes in American foreign policy.
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Meanwhile, our president has lately shown a strange affection for Pakistan, an autocratic militant state and alleged safe haven for international terrorism. He has ironically tasked the Pakistani military chief with mediation efforts with Iran while alienating Prime Minister Modi and India, a substantial ally of the United States, after a long courtship dance that has apparently fizzled out.
5. The federal government, both past and present, has not provided any transparency on what relationship it had or has with Jeffrey Epstein and his associates. It still remains unclear how much the federal government knew of Epstein’s activities and to what lengths the government went to protect him. It is sickening to think that the U.S government not only knew but actively protected Epstein from any legal consequences.
As a child, I enjoyed celebrating July 4 by chomping on chunks of watermelon until the juice ran down my cheeks, lighting leftover Diwali sparklers in the driveway and watching the fireworks show at the national mall. But I don’t know if I still retain that enthusiasm. With recent attacks on the rule of law and press, deceitful politicians, strained international relations and suspicious gatekeeping of the Epstein files, it feels unnatural to celebrate this year.
I pass a Montessori school on my way to work every morning and often see toddlers no older than 2 years old playing outside. I wonder what type of society will be waiting for these kids as they come of age and become voting citizens. Let’s hope it’s one our founders envisioned in 1776, we have all continuously molded and improved on over the last 250 years and tomorrow’s citizens will be proud of. Happy Birthday, America — try to make it worthwhile for us.
(Ithi Joshi is a lawyer, dancer and writer. She is a first generation Indian American and a long time resident of the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.)