Love It or Leave It (The Sympathizer)

The phrase "Love It or Leave It" appears in Viet Thanh Nguyen's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Sympathizer, representing a simplistic, often jingoistic, and ultimately flawed perspective on national identity and patriotism, particularly within the context of the Vietnamese diaspora in the United States after the Vietnam War. It encapsulates the pressure exerted on immigrants, especially those perceived as politically suspect or lacking sufficient enthusiasm for their adopted country, to either fully embrace American values and culture or return to their country of origin.

In the novel, the phrase is most significantly connected to the fraught relationship between the narrator, Captain, a double agent, and the General, a staunch anti-communist seeking to reclaim South Vietnam. The General embodies this "Love It or Leave It" mentality, seeing any questioning or criticism of American policies or the war as disloyalty. He expects unwavering adherence to his vision of a future South Vietnam, mirroring the uncompromising patriotism he believes immigrants should display towards America.

The phrase's deployment in The Sympathizer serves as a critique of the complex realities of immigration and assimilation, highlighting the impossibility of fully erasing one's past or completely adopting a new identity. Captain's internal conflict stems precisely from his inability to fully subscribe to either extreme. He is neither entirely Vietnamese nor entirely American, constantly navigating a moral and cultural chasm. The "Love It or Leave It" mentality offers no space for nuance or understanding of the complicated feelings experienced by those caught between two worlds. It exposes the hypocrisy inherent in demanding unquestioning loyalty from individuals who have experienced trauma and displacement. Ultimately, Nguyen uses the phrase to challenge simplistic notions of patriotism and to underscore the complexities of the immigrant experience.