This is unforgivable. Questioning Senator Obama’s patriotism? Why does CNN feel comfortable questioning Obama’s patriotism? You don’t see CNN questioning John McCain’s patriotism, even though he let our troops down in Iraq and Afghanistan for years while they fought with insufficient manpower and equipment and VA benefits. I doubt CNN is going to be doing a poll about whether John McCain is crazy. Or how about if George Bush is still an alcoholic? The media never dares to question the integrity, the sanity, the patriotism of Republicans. God forbid…. Oh let’s do talk to about the AP. Their reporter, Nedra Pickler, writes a piece that regurgitates all the right-wing lies about Obama lacking patriotism, and what’s the title of the story?…. “Conservatives say Obama lacks patriotism”
Jeebus, I don’t even know where to begin. How dare CNN even go down this road? Since when should a Presidential candidate- or anyone else, for that matter- be judging on whether their patriotism is “sufficient”? Does anyone seriously think that a poll like this would be set up to raise questions about John McCain? And what, exactly, constitutes “sufficient” patriotism? Does is mean wearing an American flag lapel pin? Standing at attention with your hand over your heart during “The Star-Spangled Banner”? Wearing red on Fridays or putting a yellow ribbon magnet on your SUV “to support the troops”? Are we really so concerned about a candidate’s fealty to mindless groupthink that we’ll seriously debate this crap? Apparently so.
And who are Conservatives to say if ANYONE is sufficiently patriotic? As if they’re the guardians of all that is good, holy, and American. What difference does it make that Obama doesn’t wear an American flag pin? Other than being a cheap display of mindless nationalism, how can a lapel pin possibly be considered a reliable barometer of one’s patriotism? A lapel pin is no indication of one’s patriotism, but it just may be of an indication of one’s willingness to blind obey the dictates of silly political symbolism.
Silly me; here all this time I’d been thinking that McCarthyism was dead. It appears to have been resurrected by the Far Right, primarily because they have nothing else to offer. THEY. GOT. NUTHIN’. After the past eight years, they’re hosed and they know it. What we’re seeing now is the product of desperation. Republicans want so desperately to retain the White House that they’re willing to do anything, and they’ll keep trying until they find something that they think will stick. Frankly, they should be embarrassed and ashamed. This would, of course, assume that Republicans actually understand the meaning of “shame”, a doubtful supposition at best.
Barack Obama doesn’t wear lapel pins? This is newsworthy? Are we so averse to meaningless dialogue that we’ll for meaningless sartorial displays of knee-jerk nationalism? I think you already know the answer to that one.
Patriotism is not about empty, hollow gestures or meaningless symbols. It’s about a commitment to your homeland, a commitment to give of yourself while still believing that the best is yet to come. A lapel pin, or the absence of one, cannot and should not be used as a measure of one’s patriotism. Republicans need to come to grips with the fact that reflexive, knee-jerk nationalism is not the same thing as patriotism. Until we come to recognize that fact and reject the baseless accusations that Conservatives are throwing at Barack Obama, symbols will be everything. It’s easy and requires little thought…but far too many of the American sheeple are willing to take Conservative accusations on face value, worthless though they may be. So much for critical thinking.
WE DESERVE BETTER….
