Our American Four Fathers designed democracy as a series of systematic checks and balances on power, the primary check being public participation. American patriotism then, is the commitment to participate in the decision-making process, and the acceptance of this obligation as a citizen. In this sense, American patriotism requires responsibility - citizens must have (some) knowledge of history, be informed about current circumstances, and be engaged in critical examination and analysis of government policy. In her book, The Partly Cloudy Patriot, Sarah Vowell discusses the discrepancy between American patriotism and the American populace. She presents cultural examples and provides commentary to illustrate and explore the apparent contradiction between what society "says" and what society "does." In the essays "The Nerd Voice, Part I.: The Nerd Israel," "The Nerd Voice Part II.: Nerds v. Jocks," and "The Partly Cloudy Patriot," Vowell asserts that Americans have abandoned true patriotism in spite of the fact that they claim to value democracy. .
In "The Nerd Voice, Part I.: The Nerd Israel," Vowell gives the prototype nerd as an example of what it means to be a "nerd," and further, as an example to show what specific qualities American culture devalues. She portrays the "nerd" as being not only intelligent and informed, but also extremely focussed on something specific. "Geeks tend to be focussed on very narrow fields of endeavor and care too much about [their] subject." (90) She points out that American culture resents the "nerd" for being the epitome of what it endorses: intelligence, focus, interest, motivation, and active learning. These are the same qualities necessary to be an avid patriot; therefore patriotism, in its intended sense, is devalued by Americans as well. .
Vowell takes the notion of the depreciated nerd from "Part I.: The Nerd Israel" and enhances its significance in "Part II.