Make American Passports Great Again
Americans deserve a travel document worthy of a great nation—one that projects confidence in our heritage and national symbols rather than the dull neutrality of bureaucratic design.
The argument: The United States should restore bold patriotic symbolism to its passport and resist the creeping bureaucratization that turns civic symbols into generic administrative documents.
WHY IT MATTERS
America’s “Next Generation Passport,” introduced in 2021, represents a major technological upgrade in the nation’s travel documents. The passport features a polycarbonate identity page, laser-engraved personalization, and upgraded technology designed to prevent tampering and counterfeiting. These changes strengthen security and durability while keeping the United States aligned with modern standards for international travel. But a passport is not merely a secure credential; it is also the symbol of American sovereignty that citizens carry across international borders.
Until recently, I hadn’t given any thought to the design change. Journalist Ken Klippenstein drew attention to it when he posted a side-by-side comparison of the old and new passport identity pages on X earlier this week, and the difference is surprisingly stark. The older passport included a patriotic flag motif, prominently featuring a bold rendering of the American eagle alongside the text of the Preamble to the Constitution. In the Next Generation Passport, the eagle is still present but faint and subdued against an uninspiring, monochromatic background. Once you see the comparison, it’s impossible to miss: what once felt unmistakably American now feels muted, bureaucratic, and stale.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau noticed the critique and offered a refreshingly candid response. “Thanks for highlighting this,” he wrote. “I share your concern that all parts of our civic life are becoming dull and uninspired/uninspiring. This is the great danger of bureaucratization. There’s no reason passports shouldn’t have a little flair and it pains me when things get affirmatively uglier and more generic. I’ll look into this decision and see what I can do.” Landau’s response identifies the deeper cultural dynamic at work: bureaucracies often excel at solving technical problems, but they rarely preserve symbolism, beauty, or civic identity.
“Over time, bureaucratization makes civic life dull, generic, and forgettable.”
Some will argue that aesthetics are irrelevant when security is the priority. And the NGP’s security upgrades are undeniably important. The polycarbonate data page dramatically reduces the risk of passport alteration, while laser engraving and embedded security features make counterfeiting far more difficult. But pitting security against civic meaning is a false dichotomy. America can maintain world-class security standards while still designing documents that express national heritage and pride. The problem is not that the passport isn’t technically better—it’s that it now reflects the aesthetic instincts of bureaucracy rather than the spirit of a nation.
The debate over passport design may seem small, but it reflects a broader cultural trend as bureaucratic minimalism continues to displace symbolism and tradition. One needs look no further than at the soulless federal buildings and sterile government complexes scattered across the nation. President Trump recognized this problem in a 2020 executive order encouraging classical architecture for federal buildings, arguing that civic architecture should “uplift and beautify public spaces” and embody the “dignity, enterprise, vigor, and stability” of American self-government. And as America approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding, restoring visible civic symbols—including the design of the passport—offers an opportunity to reaffirm national confidence and cultural continuity.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Over time, bureaucratization makes civic life dull, generic, and forgettable. America’s passport should look unmistakably American. Security upgrades are welcome, but national symbolism should not disappear in the process. Restoring bold patriotic imagery to the passport would reaffirm the pride and civic identity the document is meant to represent.
Todd Huizinga is Senior Editor of Nation and Citizenship at Restoring the West by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Follow him on X @Todd_Huizinga.
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I can't unsee it now. I hope they change it back before I have to renew my passport again.
Please keep us posted.
You’re absolutely right: look at the USSR’s depressingly ugly and poorly constructed buildings and Chairman Mao’s dehumanizing uniforms for his entirely enslaved “citizenry.”
Beauty has no rational basis in a mechanical, god-rejecting view of the universe: only functionality or not.