WHERE'S YOUR LAPEL PIN?I was inspired by Obama's speech on patriotism to write, especially on this Independence Day. If Obama was running for rhetorician in chief, it would certainly be a landslide, now I don't have to impress anyone, so I'm off on my own rant.
" War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small 'inside' group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes." Smedley Butler (two time Medal of Honor recipient)
With apologies to the late General Butler. Patriotism is a similar racket. On the Fourth of July you'll see the displays of fireworks and flags, the crack cocaine of patriotism, the quick rush. With politics you get the same rush. A poll taken says that 90% of people think John McCain is patriotic. I'm not sure what the other 10% said, probably something like, "that's the stupidest question I've ever heard." Since 9/11 there has been a contest, even a battle to back the other candidate into another corner and question his/her patriotism. Max Cleland fell victim to this, from a wheelchair no less. A disabled veteran accused by a draft dodger. Most of the accusations were when someone questioned money for Homeland Security, the war effort or expressed some concern about the Constitution, civil rights or something silly like that.
I love my American flag, it was one of the first things I bought, when I bought a house. It's a symbol for a lot of things to me, that I live in a country that has a meritocracy and opportunity so that I could live in a house I own, not be hungry and be able to obtain all the blessings of liberty. However, I love my country even more. I love my country because someone can go out and burn a flag if they want. To make a statement, to speak their minds. To me, America has always been that city on a hill. As it is often said, while other countries will ebb and flow in economic and military power, there is no Chinese dream, there is no Indian dream or German dream, but there is an American Dream.
Many are now defining this American Dream as "soft power". The country that provided for the Marshall Plan, the country that is always there to pitch in when another country gets hit hard by national disaster. Certainly there is a realpolitik to these actions. We are a country of mutts, of immigrants from every corner of the world, who's parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc. came here searching for that dream. Every one of these generations of immigrants have faced certain obstacles, economic, linguistic, etc. yet people still line up and fight to come to America.
This American Dream has been tainted, not by lack of economic opportunity, excessive immigration, globalization or a threat of terror but by fear and the United States being perceived as a global bully. Patriotism has now become synonymous with not questioning the actions of a militarized state, xenophobia, fear and a lack of desire to learn about difference. To question or even think outside of this box makes you unrealistic, having a pre 9/11 mindset, lack of support for the troops, or even supporting terror.
Anybody with that kind of record is gonna make a mistake. I want all party members in the tri state district to monitor the city, county and state police on their CBs. Mr. Blues is gonna fuck up, and when he does, he better pray the police get to him before we do.
America is a weird place, and I'm not one to say that there aren't a lot of people who are just outliers. Whose exercise of their Constitutional rights can just be infuriating. Nazi's marching through Skokie, Klan causing a ruckus, those Topeka aholes spewing homophobia, crazy stuff, the same crazy stuff that makes this fruitcake called America taste so sweet.
My own story comes out at a birthday party for the US Army on Cambridge Common a couple of years ago. I took the day off and made my way down to hear a WWI vet speak, see the family of a Medal of Honor winner speak and other great pieces of the American experience, much of which is drawn from military service. It was a special day for me. Sure, it was a recruiting attempt in the middle of a controversial war, a chance for some good PR. So the Cambridge crazies came out in force, I'm unsure if they took the same personal day. Shouting down the speakers including a seven year old boy whose father had died in Iraq and a 106 year old veteran of European battlefields. Infuriating, and at some times confusing, when one woman started yelling at me, "Bates? you went to Bates? you should know better?" Apparently confusing my Pittsburgh Pirates jersey with a school that I probably couldn't of afforded to drive to, much less attend. So the point being, democracy and a republic is an ugly, ugly endeavor.
The Internet has made this lack of discourse even crazier, from both ends of the spectrum. Between blogs, chain emails and angry talk radio, solitary voices from the edge combine and gain volume, chattering away at any positive discourse and discussion that may lead to policy change that benefits the American people as a whole. I blame the left as much as the right, the right seems to have taken over the airwaves for political "thought" while the left has come up with the "net roots".
There has been no wave of reasonableness or a moderate voice that has come out of this storm. It is said that after 5 o'clock Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan would be friendly after fighting it out all day in sometimes pitched and insulting battles. I'm unsure if Pelosi and GW would ever be able to have that same type of conversation. Because of this national polarization, where is the opportunity for civility and moderation in politics, to agree to push those that try to push politics to the edge to the edge themselves. It is great to have discussions that push the envelope, many good things can actually come from the extremes of thought, curiosity about the possibilities. In fact, this is the very germ of progressivism and change, smart people thinking about possibility.
This 4th of July lets all agree, we love America but you're not going to be able to catch that in a can or box, firework or bumper sticker. It is a deep love, the kind that sometimes screws you over but always comes back to you. America is not some soulmate but this love takes the work of a lifetime.
Happy Independence Day!
