DUELING COLUMN: State Pride Highlights The Strength In Our Diversity

Milena Dupuis/Contributing Writer

Whenever Americans are asked where they come from, their response tends to be their state rather than the USA. This has led some to make the assumption that we do this because we lack a sense of pride in our country. It has also been believed that Americans’ tendency to cling to their state identity is to blame for the harsh divisions within our country. 

Let’s begin by understanding why it is that Americans tend to name the state they are from rather than their country when traveling.

In my personal experience, when I travel, I take the liberty to tell strangers that I am from Florida because most times, they automatically make the connection that I live near Disney World and Miami. It’s not because I am actively trying to renounce my country and its other 49 states. 

America’s popular culture is a global phenomenon. Most people consume content riddled with references to American states, cities and celebrities. As a result, many foreigners have a deeper understanding of America’s states.

We have been conditioned to let others know what state we are from. Nine out of ten times you tell someone that you are from the USA, they will automatically follow up with asking which state you are from. This once again is attributed to America’s global influence increasing geographical awareness.

It’s also necessary for Americans to rely on state-based identities.

Most countries outside of North America are both smaller and older. It is common to find nation-states in areas like Europe, where nearly entire countries have the same ethnic identity. 

It is against the very nature of America to be uniform. America is defined by its mosaic of diversity and variety.

The United States of America, on the other hand, lacks all of these characteristics. The country is massive—it spans the width of an entire continent. It has also been a beacon of diversity.

It is so much easier to have a unified identity when your entire country has the same climate. It is also much easier to have a unified identity when your entire country has the same foods and traditions. 

It is against the very nature of America to be uniform. America is defined by its mosaic of diversity and variety. It is defined by the various identities we cling onto that are a part of this country. The purpose of our governmental structure was made expressly so that we can have these dual identities of being both Floridian and American.

The day we ask Americans to relinquish their individualized identities that have been shaped by the geography, ancestry and economic activities of their state for the sake of an “authentic” American identity is the day that our country’s spirit will die. 

Embracing the differences between states has not been the downfall of our country, but rather, what’s allowed it to survive. 

The entire concept of the United States of America would be completely implausible if it weren’t for the creation of states. Asking a man in Georgia to blend his identity with a man in Massachusetts is simply not plausible. 

Here’s why calling yourself a Floridian isn’t going to tear the United States apart.

When you and your family members  verbally spar over which state is better, the conversation is never truly about discussing what’s wrong in the other’s state. Rather, the conversation is about highlighting what’s good in your state. 

These state rivalries are never truly about hating other states; they’re about feeling proud of your state. Having a unified state identity is something we desperately need. 

Especially in states like Florida, where your neighbors are on complete opposite sides of the political spectrum, having pride over your state can be an essential unifying factor. It can be refreshing to watch people give up their “Republican” and “Democrat” labels in exchange for the labels of “New Yorker” or “Bostonian.” 

Even in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, arguments over state protocols shouldn’t be seen as being a negative thing. It is allowing for a healthy discourse to take place that holds the states’ governments accountable for their actions. 

Yes, the arguments can become mean spirited, but they are always rooted in a desire for each state to do what is best for our country and its people. Even if that means having opposing opinions on protocol. We can’t just assume opposition equates a malicious intent. 

This,  ultimately, is why state pride is so important. If each state tries their very hardest to be the best, then we’ll be left with a country full of the best states.

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