Each week on The Newsfeed, host Paris Jackson and a team of veteran journalists dive deep into one topic and provide impactful reporting, interviews and community insights from sources you can trust. Each day this week, this post will be updated with a new story from the team.
The United States will soon mark 250th anniversary, at a moment when many of its people feel divided, fearful, and concerned about the future of the country.
With that in mind, for the last few months, we’ve been asking people we’ve interviewed for the show this question: what does patriotism mean to you? All this week, we’ll be sharing what some of them said.
"This country was founded upon people that held up their hand and said, ‘Enough!’"
Here’s the response from Elle Cree, a veteran and trans woman who we interviewed earlier this month for a story about her move to Washington from a red state.
Story published 06/29/2026
Elle Cree
“Patriotism, to me, is being able to stand up for your values, to be able to stand in a city square and say, ‘The emperor has no clothes.’ It's an old story. And to be able to do so without fear of retribution, without fear of retaliation. This country was founded upon people that held up their hand and said, ‘Enough!’ We have the ability to do that. Our voices cannot be silenced.
Patriotism is treating everybody with respect. Everybody with dignity, and to value each person's opinion. I share that value and I expect others to give that same respect to me. That's what being a patriot is.
It's not about putting flags on your car. There's a John Prine song that I love, and it's ‘Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore.’ And by God, that's what this is about. It's not about putting something up. It's not about being somewhere on a Sunday morning. It's about every day taking care of everybody that's around us and making sure that everybody has a voice at the table,” Cree said.
“Patriotism means being proud of who we are.”
Today, you’ll hear parts of the responses from Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and Andrey Sklyar, the organizer of the “Decent Social Skills” event in Seattle.
Story published 06/30/2026
Andrey Sklyar
“So, it's funny. It's become a dirty word, right? These days, to say that you are pro-America, that you value and want to protect and want to cherish it. Those that feel that the system has failed them don't feel the same way, and for valid reasons. And so, that's a really hard question to answer right now, because I feel like it would only apply to half of America. One definition would apply to one half, and (for) the other, the answer would be like, ‘being patriotic is non patriotic,’ right?” Sklyar said.
Katie Wilson
“Patriotism means being proud of who we are, I'll say, as a city and also as a country. And I think who we are right now is clear, right? Like, we are one of the most multicultural societies in the world. Like, we are built on immigration. We are... held together more by our aspirations and our ideals and our values, ideally, than by the fact that we all came from the same place. And I think that that is something that's really beautiful and also something that, we're struggling right now to put that into practice as, as an ideal, as a value,” Wilson said.
“Make it real. Make it like you say it’s supposed to be.”
We went to downtown Seattle to ask people what patriotism means to them. Here’s what they had to say.
Story published 07/01/2026
Kimberly West
“I think about people. I think about people and supporting people the best way you can, whether it's in within your own immediate community... And I think that can be multiple communities, multiple identities,” West said.
Niko Kent
“To me, patriotism means being able to do a little bit more than just complaining about the environment we're in. I feel like quite often, especially in Seattle, we look at actions the mayor has taken, our governor, and it's really easy to, you know, offer more issues than solutions. And so, for patriotism, I think really as a community coming together, being more participative in community events, offering more hopeful solutions,” Kent said.
Larry Crowder
“It means to me ,(a) 21-year Air Force veteran from the South. All the things I’ve seen growing up, even crosses burning in my parents’ friend's front yard. So the patriotism that... we're striving for. It's all fake. It's fake from a standpoint of what we're looking at now because we're going backwards... Make it real. Make it real. Make it like you say it’s supposed to be,” Crowder said.
