Hedricks Chapel was the appropriate venue for Eric Liu to preach his gospel of patriotism. That evening, Liu held the rapt attention of each person sitting at the edge of their pews as he spoke more in the manner of an evangelist than a scholarly author about civic responsibility. For him, specifically defined values, the command of skills, and the understanding of systems represent the holy trinity of patriotism. Lui’s lecture, or rather sermon, gave meaning to each of these.
According to Liu, the values of patriotism involve putting your country before yourself, what he refers to as contribution before consumption or a “sharing of sacrifice.” In other words, we must all be willing to give up something before we expect anything in return. We are all in this together. It is “not all about you,” but rather your role in society and what you can do to make it better for yourself as well as everyone around you. As Liu put it, you must be a “pro-social” contributing member of the community. Lastly, Liu stated that society becomes a manifestation of your social behavior. When you chose to be selfish, discourteous or non-compassionate, society becomes selfish, discourteous, or non-compassionate as well. Our behavior is contagious. We are living in the product of our own actions.
The second part of the trinity that Liu addressed to the congregation was the command of skills. These “skills of citizenship” include how to speak, how to listen, how to deal with diversity, how to debate, how to organize people behind an idea, how to mobilize, how to navigate the power terrain, and how to engage people. The list continues, yet most citizens lack even one of these skills. As citizens it is our responsibility to learn these skills and, furthermore, to teach them to others.
Liu completed the trinity by explaining what it means to have an understanding of systems. Systems are integrated into every aspect of our lives: a familial system, a faith system, a market system, an ecosystem. The same applies to the operation our country. Everything is set in to motion by a system. And as citizens, we need to do more than just simply know that these systems exist, but we should understand how they work and the powers that they have.
At the end of his homily, Liu led everyone to recite an oath to declare their patriotism: “I pledge to be an active american, to show up for others, to govern myself, to help govern my community, recommit myself to my country’s creed, to cherish liberty as a responsibility, I pledge to serve and to push my country, when right to be set right when wrong to be set right, wherever my ancestor were born, I claim America and i pledge to be a citizen.” This had the odd effect of making one feel they were reciting the Lord’s prayer at the end of church service, which was consistent with the rest of Liu’s lecture. Liu was an incredibly compelling speaker, which reflected his previous work as a pervious speech writer. It was clear he could use the power of rhetoric in a unique and skillful way. He passionately preached the spirit of patriotism, his intention being to convert those who were not already true believers. But like many religious monologues, Lui’s message was more idealistic than realistic. That said, it was still far better than anyt other sermon I have heard.