For Country and Guac

Last week, three things happened:

First, I got to lead a seminar on the Declaration of Independence and Tocqueville's Equality of Conditions argument with a stellar group of enlisted veterans. Second, we witnessed quite a presidential debate. And third, I bought a bag of avocados.

As the avocados ripened, my brain mashed these events together into a blog post idea, timely with the fast approaching Fourth of July.

The ingredients to a dynamite guac:

• 4 large avocados
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1/2 to a full hothouse tomato, roughly chopped
• fistful of cilantro, finely chopped
• medium sized jalapeño, diced
• 1/2 lime squeezed into the mix
• 5-10 shakes of Cholula
• more salt than you think you need, to taste

Two and a half years ago, I joined up at the Union League Club of Chicago. It's a wonderful place to spend time socially, but the primary attraction to me is its stalwart commitment to civic engagement. Owing to the fact that the club was founded in defense of the Union in the Civil War era, members start every meeting by reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, something I hadn’t said in decades.

I didn't just want to say these words because everybody else was saying them or because I was expected to do so. This isn’t elementary school.

Pledging allegiance should be a big deal, shouldn't it? If it becomes a rote exercise, it arguably loses its sincerity. It matters what specifically we are pledging to. And here, it is a renewed commitment to allegiance — a deeply entrenched loyalty.

There likely aren’t many other things in life we consider committing that amount of loyalty to, because there’s a difference between pledging allegiance and making a more basic commitment. You might commit to a new diet or to finishing a project at work, but you’re certainly not about to pledge allegiance to it. Or at least one hopes.

The Pledge, then, in any period of history, should be considered significant. And with everything happening in our country right now, it seems especially important.

Dice, chop, and squeeze what needs to be diced, chopped, and squeezed. Add it all to a big plastic bowl. Make it aesthetically pleasing and snap a photo for the gram if you're feeling fancy.

One of the innumerable reasons I love my job is that I get to engage regularly with enlisted veterans of all backgrounds, talents, and ambitions. They routinely inspire me and push me to be better.

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Seminars at the WSP boot camps are typically taught by university faculty, but I get to jump in once or twice a year. That landed me at Harvard last week to teach our first unit, which "explores the substantive ideals underpinning American democracy." Our syllabus states, "Readings and discussions prompt critical thinking about political equality, liberty, freedom, individualism, and sovereignty of the people, all within the backdrop of the American Revolution.” Yes please.

The students read excerpts from Alexis De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America and Danielle Allen’s Our Declaration. I focused the session on four questions:

1. Define liberty & equality -- why and when might they be in tension?
2. Is America eminently democratic, as Tocqueville argues?
3. Where does sovereignty come from?
4. As Allen asks, what does it take for a group to act in concert?

Allen makes powerful arguments in her book, one of which is that we should view The Declaration as Ours. Taking ownership over that document and the movement that created it can inspire us anew today.

I took a risk and had the students read The Declaration aloud, passing from one person to the next as we went from paragraph to paragraph. They engaged fully in the activity, and the result was profound. You could feel the words hitting differently.

Get a sharp knife and slice from one side the next while rotating the bowl. No fork mashing necessary. When you get most things sliced, use a spoon to turn everything over. Repeat two or three times.

So when the class explored the relationship between liberty and equality, we had in mind the breathing text of The Declaration. We worked through Allen's argument that, in contrast to the typical understanding, that seminal document isn't just about independence, but also about equality.

Teasing this out with any group is worthwhile. Doing so with a group of enlisted veterans, all of whom raised their right hand to swear and uphold the Constitution and subjected a portion of their freedom to serving something much bigger than themselves, is sublime. It genuinely restores my faith in this country every time I get this type of opportunity.

So why can I proudly say "The Pledge of Allegiance" on a regular basis at the Union League Club now? Because I've made it my own. The words are the same,* but I've done the work to understand what those words mean to me and why I'm saying them.

This acts as a tangible bulwark when I encounter discouraging news about our country. I do believe in us as a people, and I believe in our ability to build a community grounded in twin foundations of liberty and equality. And if I believe, then I also have to be ready to do the work.

Now, add salt. More than you think you need. Then find a non-you taste tester to ensure you've added enough. Put in a couple more blops of Cholula for good measure. Now you've got yourself a guac.

So when I'm thinking about our independence on this Fourth, I'll be reflecting on the enduring, necessary struggle to keep this American experiment going. I'll be thinking about how proud I am to play a role in making that happen.

My military deployments created a cognitive dissonance I will never shake, helping me appreciate how it’s possible to both be unmistakably proud and unfailingly disappointed. Two things can be true at the same time.

So if you’re mad, disillusioned, disappointed, discouraged, enraged, flustered, and more…that’s completely valid. But if you’re up for it, I encourage you to find a way to stay civically active. For you, like me, it can be the bulwark. The antidote. The restorative function. The engine of belief. But you have to work towards it.

And while you’re at it, why not munch on some of the best damn guac around?

Happy Fourth, y’all.

(if ya want to see my world class chopping and scooping skills, boy are you in luck)

*I say a slightly modified version to accommodate my religious beliefs, a change which actually aligns with the text before it was modified in the 50s