On the eve of the annual celebration of our initial independence, I feel the need to respond to the issue of patriotism. Since September 11, 2001, we’ve had a message of patriotism shoved down our throats. Unfortunately, this message seems to be the antithesis of what patriotism is about.
Patriotism, as I see it, isn’t that guy driving a Ford or Chevy pickup truck with an American Flag (made in China) flapping out of one window with “Support Our Troops” yellow ribbon magnets (also made in China) decorating the ass of his gas guzzling vehicle with music by that dipshit, Toby Keith, blasting from the CD player. This is the image of patriotism that most Americans have been handed by the media for the past few years, and it couldn’t be more wrong.
When the founders of this country decided they were tired of dealing with someone else’s laws, they struck out on their own, and created this country based on a democratic philosophy that, even, they believed would be impossible to keep. By creating a constitution guaranteeing unprecedented freedoms, they were acting as renegades giving the finger to those who would tell them what to say or think. Sure, their motivations might have been due to legal tax evasion or property rights, but Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin were staunch individualists. It is ironic to think that by today’s standards, these guys would be considered political liabilities, because they said exactly what was on their minds.
Our country was founded on the principle that as long as your lifestyle was legal and didn’t hurt anyone else, that you should be able to do it without fear of persecution. On that note, it makes me sick to think of what the word “patriotism” stands for today. All of these dumbfucks, who mostly reside in the Red State Midwest, seem to think that speaking out against the government is a violation of the spirit of patriotism. However, it is our ability to speak out that makes us patriots.
I’m a better patriot than the idiot I described driving the pickup truck with the annoying fiddle music blaring, because although I criticize the country that I live in, I’m also willing to do my part to change it. Following blindly is not patriotic, it’s just stupid. I love my country, and because I love my country, I am willing to acknowledge that my country has faults, it isn’t perfect. Nothing run or established by humans is, and therefore in order to create a more perfect union, it is the obligation of all who consider themselves patriots to point out the flaws and come up with ideas for fixing this country’s shortcomings.
Any asshole who forks over $4.99 at Wal-Mart can get an American flag and hang it in the rear window of their car, but a true patriot would boycott Wal-Mart, because they take advantage of fellow Americans by paying low wages, and encourage their employees to apply for entitlement programs needed to aid families in crises rather than pay healthcare benefits.
A few days ago, the Supreme Court stepped forward to uphold the Constitution and tell the Bush Regime that they couldn’t expand executive powers and violate the fuck out of the Geneva Convention. They stood firm and upheld the Constitution’s system of checks and balances, which is an excellent way to usher in this 4th of July. Whether you are a Bush supporter, or wish that his trip to the Ford Theater would have ended the same way President Lincoln’s did, you have to appreciate the fact that our democracy; albeit on life support for the past six years, still can come up for air and make things right when it needs to.
I’m proud to live in a country where I can write whatever the hell I want to and actively protest the government with only a mild fear that after one too many dead president remarks, the feds will knock on my door or tap my phone. I’m also resolved in my ability to evoke my first amendment rights and say to those feds, “Go ahead, and tap my phones!” If they want to listen to several hours of my sister and I trading bitches about the way our mother raised us, then so be it. However, as a patriot, I will continue to shoot off my mouth, speak out against injustice and work to make this country the place I know it can be.
5 comments:
I guess all we can do is pray that in 2 yrs we can start fixing all the shit W broke. It's going to take a LONG time.
Pray. Pray. Pray.
I've never fully understood the respect that is automatically granted to a US president simply by virtue of his being the president.
In the UK we have a (healthy) lack of respect for almost all politicians, and that goes double for the man or woman at the top.
It should be that a person in such a position MUST defend their actions and prove irrevocably that the decisions they make are right; we should not just follow them blindly: "He wouldn't bullshit us - he's the president" is just not good enough.
A patriot should love their country, of course; but that doesn't mean you have to love the administration. Indeed, as you rightly say, it means you should question it and ensure it is truly doing the best for its people.
Happy 4th of July.
Like the cartoon states: Bush is listening....use big words....This entry is as if you are reading my own mind...
Australia is a country that holds its government in the contempt it deserves. That is patriotic in my book (the ranting dullard guide to patriotism- available on amazon.com)
Guess again, Tescosuicide. We own a big flag that we usually display during the 4th of July, Veteran's Day, and Memorial Day, and we have a smaller one that we keep in our toddler's room.
This is a pretty good country, and having traveled throughout Europe and South America, I can tell you that we do have a superior standard of living. However, because I love my country, and want to keep it a good place to live, then it is my duty to criticize the government when they are doing things that do not live up to the ideals set by the founders of this country.
I don't believe my opinion exploits the founders, because Thomas Jefferson was a huge advocate of foreign diplomacy, and really set the groundwork for the way we do diplomacy today. Do you think he'd be happy with this Administration's diplomatic efforts? I don't.
People in this country have the right to mock the government, burn the flag, and protest the way the government operates, and whether or not you agree with their method of speaking out, we should all be thankful that they have the right to do so.
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