The Definition of Patriotism
Abel
news every day, and I'm involved in my community, trying to make this
world a better place, starting with where I am. I regularly volunteer
for neighborhood watch programs, I volunteer at hospitals, Churches,
the Salvation Army, e.t.c., and most importantly, I regularly register
people to vote. I've registered thousands of voters, and I do all
this for free, out of patriotism and conviction in what I believe in.
I do these things for my country. I'm constantly involved in my
community, this is how to be patriotic.
I ALWAYS vote and I ALWAYS vote a straight Democratic ticket.
It seems that a lot of people think that all you have to do is wave a
flag, and that makes you patriotic.
Nothing wrong with waving a flag, but I think if you are badly
informed, and you're not involved in the system, then you are, by my
definition, unpatriotic.
How many of the people who you see waving their flags have actually
bothered to vote in the last election? I wonder. Every election,
only about half of the population votes.
In the 1980's, Conservative Guru Rush Limbaugh went on and on, for
years and years, spouting off all that nonesense about the goodness of
President Ronald Reagan and his policies. Yet as it turns out, records
show that Rush Limbaugh never even registered to vote back then. This
goes to show you, he either doesn't really care to follow thru on his
own horrible beliefs, or maybe he does not even believe in the
horrible things he keeps saying. Yet, somewhere along the line, he
gets paid plenty to spout off all the garbage that he spouts.
If you aren't registered to vote, or if you don't vote, then you are,
in my very well informed opinion, an unpatriotic American.
That's what I think.
And if you vote Republican, then you are, most likely, very badly
informed. That's why I'm here. Stay tuned, I'll inform you. Thank
you, and God Bless America.
Abel Malcolm
http://www.democrats.org/
<><><><><><><><><><><><
Liberals take the side of the powerless, whereas Conservatives take
the side of the powerful. Liberals stand up against the oppressors,
Conservatives stand with the oppressors and against the oppressed.
Liberals like me stand up against the forces of power and against the
evil who are rich and the evil who are powerful.
johnny@.
I voted for Kerry, and I voted for McCain. I never voted for Bush.
You voted for Bill Clinton that stabbed labor in the back by signing
NAFTA into law.
Abel
You're half right.
> I voted for Kerry, and I voted for McCain. I never voted for Bush.
> You voted for Bill Clinton that stabbed labor in the back by signing
> NAFTA into law.
I've had this argument with other Republicans, and it puzzles me.
They're constantly deriding Clinton for supporting NAFTA, as well they
should. But they should also deride the Republicans. They completely
overlook the fact that NAFTA is a Republican thing. The fact of the
matter is that most Republicans supported NAFTA, and most Democrats
opposed it. If you're opposed to NAFTA, then you should be a
Democrat.
Furthermore, what this means is that Clinton is not as Liberal as the
Republicans claim he is. It also goes to show you, anyone who votes
with the Republicans, on any issue, is making a big mistake, as
Clinton did.
Any Democrat who votes with the Republicans will anger the Democrats
(for doing what is bad), but then they will also anger the Republicans
at the same time (because the brainless Republicans are always angry
anyways at anyone who is a Democrat, period). So why would any
Democrat have any respect for any Republican, or what the Republicans
stand for? Obama is presently making a big mistake by trying to be
bipartisan and to get along with those Republicans. He's making a big
mistake, because he's assuming that Republicans are sane people, and
they're not.
So where does this all this insanity come from? None other than the
FOX non-news propaganda network. They have been constantly trashing
Clinton for his support of NAFTA, but they completely overlooked the
fact that he got NAFTA passed, in the first place, because most of the
Republicans in the Senate voted in favor of NAFTA (most of the
Democrats in the Senate voted against NAFTA). Also, most of the
Republicans in Congress voted in favor of NAFTA (but most of the
Democrats in Congress voted against NAFTA).
There is something far more important and far more sinister going on
here than just the issue of NAFTA. What this shows is how powerfully
and effectively the mass media manipulates and distorts information,
it's done via FOX and also via the plethora of AM hate radio stations
thru out the country. Unfortunately, all the legitimate news stations
out there have a tendency to treat FOX as if it is a legitimate news
outlet, thus repeating their lies. The most egregious example of this
was the all the war hype leading up to the Iraq war. It is not a
coincidence that studies showed that most of the people who watch FOX
falsely believed that Iraq had WMD's and most of these people also
falsely believed that Iraq had connections to Al Qaeda. This is how
misinformation is spread.
Myself, I never, never, never, ever watch FOX. I never watch it.
That is not a news station. That's a news distortion station. It's
not news, it's really malicious garbage, anti-American propaganda,
deliberately designed to mislead you into doing the wrong thing.
Check out this link:
Edgar A Pearlstein
PATRIOTISM: SYMBOLIC AND SUBSTANTIVE
Edgar Pearlstein
Since September 11, 2001 there has been a great increase in symbolic
patriotism, such as: displaying the U.S. flag on our houses, clothing, and
autos; pledging allegiance; singing the national anthem at athletic
contests; and by politicians saying "May God bless America" at the end of
every speech.
To some people, patriotism means, in addition to symbolism like the
above, never criticizing the country or its leaders, especially in matters
of foreign affairs. And to some it even seems to mean being gung-ho in
favor of any war that is proposed, and that opposition to war is treason!
Public symbolism is just that--symbolism. Symbolism is OK, but it
isn't enough.
Substantive patriotism, in contrast with symbolic patriotism, means
actually doing something. Serving in the military immediately comes to
mind; and, for those of us not in the military, giving respect to those
who are or were. There are also various civic duties, for example:
honesty about tax returns, accepting jury duty when called, serving in or
contributing to volunteer organizations.
A major civic responsibility that some people ignore is staying aware
of what is going on in Washington, the state capital, and the world. Not
just a few days before elections and not just in terms of headlines,
slogans, and sound-bites, but all the time and in depth. Those who ignore
issues and candidates until just before an election are not doing their
civic duty. And if they vote randomly, or on the basis of shallow
one-line reasoning, or only on the basis of what a candidate did or said
last week, they are just producing noise and thus doing harm.
A patriot will show respect to those people, both military and
civilian, who sacrificed in order that we may get and keep our liberties.
We can best honor our heroes not only by parades and speeches, but also
by resolutely holding on to and exercising the liberties they fought for.
And the patriot should not be cowed into silence by political and social
pressures, even if those pressures are claimed to be in the name of
"national security".
To deny that the country has any faults, to support its leaders
unconditionally, to automatically accept as true whatever the leaders tell
you--these are what patriotism means in an authoritarian system, not a
democratic one.
Some define patriotism as love of country, and define love of country
as never admitting that it does anything wrong. (Except with regard to
taxes!) They might be fond of the bumper-sticker slogan "Love it or leave
it."
"Love is blind", wrote Shakespeare (The Merchant of Venice, Act 2,
Scene 6). He wrote that as a fact, not a desirability, and he was writing
about romantic love, not other kinds. For example, another kind of love
is the love we have for our children, even though they might misbehave at
times; but if we are blind to their faults and limitations, we are in that
respect poor parents.
Similarly, love of country should not be blind--especially in a
democratic country which depends upon its citizens to have thought-out
opinions and to speak up.
To love our country constructively we should not only glory in her good
works, but acknowledge and try to change her deficiencies. A patriot
should take seriously these words from the second stanza of "America the
Beautiful":
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!
Barb Knox
countries because you were born in it.
-- George Bernard Shaw
Patriotism, n. In Dr. Johnson's famous dictionary patriotism is defined
as the last resort of a scoundrel. With all due respect to an
enlightened but inferior lexicographer I beg to submit that it is the
first.
-- Ambrose Bierce (1911)
--
---------------------------
| BBB b \ Barbara at LivingHistory stop co stop uk
| B B aa rrr b |
| BBB a a r bbb | Quidquid latine dictum sit,
| B B a a r b b | altum viditur.
| BBB aa a r bbb |
-----------------------------