In 1979, President Jimmy Carter gave a heartfelt, but politically disastrous speech. He described an American “crisis in confidence.” People faced a stubborn Mideast hostage crisis, long lines at gas stations for scarce, expensive gas, the highest inflation rate of any presidential term in history (almost 10%!), and unemployment rates of nearly 8% (inherited from the previous Ford administration).

Critics quickly labeled the subject of his speech “malaise,” an evil-sounding noun with synonyms such as weakness, illness, despondency, and depression. Ronald Reagan capitalized on Carter’s and America’s problems, even winning a second term in 1984 with 58.8% of the popular vote, a record total for the last 50 years. (Trump received 46.1% in 2016, and 49.8% in 2024.)

A popular Reagan commercial used the phrase “It’s morning again in America.” It showed morning in America literally, with comforting images of average (white) Americans going to work, but more importantly served as a metaphor for all the positive feelings we associate with sunrise: hope, limitless potential, anticipation of a welcome and productive routine, greater warmth after a cold night.

Currently, in my attempts to look positively at each coming day (all the self-help gurus say it’s important), “morning” in the phrase often turns into its near-opposite and homophone, “mourning.” I’ve found that I’m in danger of losing an important part of myself that has survived for 70-plus years: my pride in America and being an American.

I see it as one of my defining, foundational characteristics, helping to sustain me alongside my pride as a husband, father, and grandfather; as a son of the Midwest and long-time resident of Massachusetts and Greenfield; as an occasional activist trying to improve the world around me; as a friend and fellow citizen of Americans of all political beliefs who treat others kindly, fairly, and responsibly.

My faith in our country has wavered with our worst mistakes: our destruction of Vietnam, 2003 invasion of Iraq, rejection of health care as a guaranteed right, exorbitant funding of the Pentagon while starving public education, etc. It has also swelled at our myriad and magnificent achievements: the first man on the moon; affirming equality through the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts; reinforcing constitutional law during Watergate; maturing as a society to give much less negative attention to interracial couples; and a history of helping other countries and people after wars, natural disasters, drought, famine, revolutions against dictators, etc.

That pride has consistently brought respectful tears to my eyes during the national anthem and when hearing and viewing the incredible works of American artists, athletes, soldiers, and scientists. I have been proud to be a citizen of a nation that repeatedly reached out to its own citizens and those around the world with its heart in the right place. In general, I believed that we, as Americans, have tried to do right by people, even if we failed badly in many areas.

What I see across America today are things I don’t recognize as American: a government built solely on greed, anger, and vindictiveness; more tax cuts for the wealthy while most Americans scrape to get by; vitriol and threats directed at any and all critics; celebrations or indifference at the discomforts and suffering of those already on society’s margins. Our government willfully and needlessly makes enemies of staunch allies around the world, while repeatedly glorifying, supporting, and emulating dictatorships.

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Luckily, grief is not a terminal or permanent condition; just as spring erases winter, mourning can lead to a bright new morning. In a widely accepted model of grieving by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, the optimal final stage is “acceptance” which includes exploring options, putting new plans in place, and moving on from an agonizing loss. I know from personal experience that we can’t afford to get tired or wallow in despair, symptoms of some other stages of grief.

We need to come together as a group of dedicated patriots who oppose the destruction of our government and its replacement by amoral oligarchs. We have stood by America through so much thick and so much thin and remain dedicated to a government guided by the principles of the Constitution and our founding documents. We need to show our faces, proud and unafraid, to those who are in the process of dismantling our government and overturning the rule of law. We can grieve deeply at America’s swing towards authoritarian rule, as long as it doesn’t prevent arriving quickly at the end stage of the process: moving on with new options and new plans.

Allen Woods is a freelance writer, author of the Revolutionary-era historical fiction novel “The Sword and Scabbard,” and Greenfield resident. His column appears regularly on a Saturday. Comments are welcome here or at awoods2846@gmail.com.