Lisa A. Dellinger (Chickasaw Nation) is the George E. Tinker visiting professor at Iliff School of Theology in Denver.
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My Family Fought for This Country. We Won’t Celebrate It
Instead of sparklers and flags, I’ll tell an older story.
AS A CHICKASAW child, I grew up in the shadow of Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. I fell asleep to the drone of airplane engines and awoke to the sight of bombers, fighter jets, and AWACS (airborne warning and control system) planes in the sky above. I am well acquainted with how militarism permeates every aspect of the daily life of Americans. I recognize the stories used to promote this nation’s heroic “exceptionalism” on the world stage.
This summer, as the United States marks 250 years of independence from British colonial oppression, our screens will fill with U.S. flags, fireworks, and military service members in full dress uniform. These images of patriotism, opportunities to consume rituals of collective belonging, and narratives of freedom and justice are presented as the aspirations of a Christian God and Christian country. Each soldier’s self-sacrifice for the nation is framed as Christ-like and their blood as poured out for our democratic salvation.