Citizens of the World: A Stoic Podcast for Curious Travelers - Happy 4th of July! Or Is It?

Episode Date: July 4, 2020

I'm hearing people on the left and right grumble that the U.S. is going to hell in a handbasket. In this episode, I give my two cents on what patriotism really is and why we should stop letting the worst of us define who we are.Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free Conversation Cheat Sheet with simple formulas you can use so you can respond with clarity, whether you’re in a meeting or just talking with friends.Download it at sarahmikutel.com/blanknomore and start feeling more confident in your conversations today.

Happy Fourth of July, or is it, I have seen grumblings online of people on the left and the right, just complaining about the state of the United States and why there is nothing to celebrate. And I just really want to dig into these feelings and what I've been seeing. So let's dive in. Welcome to the Postcard Academy, a show about travel, living abroad, and location independence for people seeking a more meaningful, freedom-fueled life. I'm your host, Sarah Micatel, an American who first moved abroad on our own at age 18 and who has been permanently enjoying life in Europe since 2010. I am so glad you're here. My guest and I will share with you how we made our travel, living abroad, and location independent dreams come true and how you can too, because you will never have this day again. Make it matter. All right, so happy July 4th, it's 2020. I'm in the UK, but I am still going to be celebrating. at a pub. So, yep, it's 2020 and we're still in the global pandemic. But we are celebrating in the

UK today because the pubs have reopened. So of course, we're going to be safe, but I really look forward to hanging out with my friend and my friend's little puppy and just celebrating the day, because no matter where I am in the world, I love celebrating the 4th of July. But I didn't always feel this way. Well, let's go way back to when I was a kid. When I was a child, I was bizarrely patriotic. I had so much love and pride for the United States. And I remember being at Disney World one year when I was a kid, my family went down there with another family. And I had the opportunity, I think I was 13 at the time. I had the opportunity to go see a band that night. It was a very popular band. And my friend who was my age was like, oh my gosh, let's go. This is

going to be so fun. Our choices were to go see this band or to go to a fireworks display. And I said, I really want to stay here and watch the fireworks. And I did. And I cried because my heart, I was so emotional. I just loved the United States so much. And I felt that way for a long time until I started working in politics. And even then, I still had a lot of pride for America. but I started to become a little bit disillusioned, especially during the period when the tea party started to get a lot of momentum. They were the squeaky wheels. They were getting a ton of media attention. And when I was seeing those people call themselves patriots and then go to town halls and shout at people in wheelchairs saying they deserved to be there and they didn't deserve health care, I was just thinking, oh my gosh, if that. this is what a patriot is. If that's what the United States is, then no thanks. And I became really uncomfortable with the word patriot. But then after a while, I realized the worst of us should not get to

define us. I can still call myself a patriot and be a good person. And I think that's what we should remember. A patriot to me is somebody who understands that our country is not perfect and let's work together so that we can make it a better place. And that's what I'm seeing right now, which I think is so excited when I see Black Lives Matter and people working together and just recognizing like, oh yeah, our past was not that great. We've done, the United States has done some really great things, especially when it comes to entrepreneurship and just rolling up your sleeves and to making things happen. And of course, some groups have had more opportunities than others. But to me, right now, what patriotism is is saying, okay, we are not perfect, but we're going to

work together to make the future better for other generations. To me, that's a patriot. Patriotism is not when you assume and really dig in your heels saying, we're already perfect, we've never done anything wrong, you know, we are the best. That's not a patriot. That's the opposite of a patriot. That's just somebody putting their head in the sand and just being kind of like a child, you know, a bratty little child. True patriotism is, as I said, it's working together. It's acknowledging your mistakes and choosing to do better, which I think is the adult way to live, right? So anyway, that's what gets me excited about the 4th of July today. I think that the U.S. is heading into a better place. And I also want to talk about America as an idea. So America is not just, you know, a piece of paper that people, it's not the Declaration of Independence, right? And it's not who shows up in the Senate and it's not borders. For me, America is something much bigger. It's global. It's an idea of hope, of promise, of democracy, of freedom. America right now doesn't have the best reputation in the world. But I mean, this is something that has ebbed and flowed throughout its history. People outside of the United States might not always like our presidents. They might not always like our politics. But there is a spirit of America that, a lot of people around the world really respect and aspire to when I moved to Italy 10 years ago,

and yes, it's my 10 year anniversary. Every Italian I met said, what are you doing here? You should be in New York. New York is such a magical place. And when they talked to me about New York, it wasn't just that it was a fun city and they loved the nightlife or maybe they liked the museums. They loved the idea of New York. And in fact, they would say, I don't even think of New York as the U.S. I think of it as the world city, which I really loved. I loved that they felt so welcome there and that it was just a place where the whole world could come together. For me, that's the idea of America.

It's something much bigger than America itself. It's a symbol and it's a symbol that the world needs and appreciates. So America at its best is a place that is welcoming to everyone and gives hope to everyone. So despite all the craziness happening in the world, the U.S. still symbolizes a hopeful place for a lot of people. And yeah, people are just really caught in a lot of turmoil right now and everything seems crazy. But the worst of us don't get to define us. And they don't get to claim the United States as their own. A while back, talking to a woman in America. She was born in America, but her parents were Italian. And it sounds like

they weren't the nicest people. They weren't great people. She doesn't have a relationship with them right now. And she told me, you know, they ruined Italy for me. Now I can't go there because of all of these bad ties. And I said, they don't have any claim on Italy. Just because they're from there doesn't mean that Italy can't be yours as well. You have every right to enjoy all of the beautiful things in Italy, all of the food, the culture. I mean, Italy has so many beautiful things to offer and you shouldn't deny yourself those things just because people that you don't get on with are from that area, right? Again, we shouldn't let the worst people define us and claim claim countries for themselves. Or, you know, I've heard people say,

my ex-boyfriend is from, you know, Mexico or wherever. So now I can never go there. It's like, no, you, Mexico can be yours as well. We can't let the worst of us control everything. So on this July 4th, I say, let's celebrate the best of us. July 4th is not just about an event that happened in 1776. In July 4th, we're celebrating the U.S. also as it is today and its people. That's the most important thing. I've said before that we can't judge a people by its governments, right? Or by its history. It's the people that make a country. That's why we go traveling. We want to get to know the actual people and the actual culture. And whoever is president or prime minister, we might not agree with them, but that one person or that administration, that doesn't make up the

entire, like, beautiful fabric of what the society is. I mean, look around who's leading the world right now, and I think, you know, it's especially true today, but it's always been true. When we travel, we're traveling to meet the people who actually make the society worth living and worth visiting. And so let's take some time this July 4th to think about all of the wonderful Americans who have accomplished great things throughout America's history. The list is very long, you know, from civil rights leaders to doctors to scientists, you know, teachers. So many people, they're the ones who make the United States a fantastic place. Inventors, business owners, writers. So many people.

so many Americans have contributed really great things to the world as a whole. So cheers, I'm over here in the UK raising my glass, saying, let's celebrate the best of us, and you are definitely part of that. All right, that's all for now. Thank you so much for listening, and have a beautiful week wherever you are. Do you ever go blank or start rambling when someone puts you on the spot? I created a free conversation sheet sheet with simple formulas that you can use So you can respond with clarity, whether you're in a meeting or just talking with friends. Download it at sarahmicatel.com slash blank no more.