The Whole Flag Thing Got Me Thinking

I know in my heart that if I walked down the street wearing an American flag pin, people would assume that I was Republican. Furthermore, they would assume that I was a conservative Republican.

For the record, I am neither.

How did this happen? Did we Democrats send a memo out at some point ceding the patriotic territory to the guys (and yes, they are almost all guys) on the other side of the aisle?

I know the Republicans didn't take the flag away from us Democrats. They couldn't. The flag belongs to all of us. So the only explanation is that we gave it away.

It can be so frustrating to be a Democrat. So what if we are right? If we are not smart, being right doesn't mean a hill of beans.

So, here's my idea. Now Senator Obama didn't heed my last suggestion -- to go public with his top 3-5 VP picks, but I'm just going to keep coming up with the big ideas, hoping someone might take me up on one of them.

Here goes.

It's time for Democrats to reclaim the mantle of patriotism. But our current form of American democracy seems to have made some wrong turns on this American journey of ours. Somewhere along the way, we forgot that this country was to be the beacon of freedom, of diversity. Our country's founding fathers were brilliant and compassionate. Consider the words of the Constitution that ABC ran before commercial breaks during last night's debate (the only smart thing they did all night) (although it further emphasized how small Gibson and Stephanopoulous were).

Barack, how about making a statement? Consider wearing an American flag pin beginning today and until you take the oath of office on January 20, 2009.

Return to our roots. Wear an American flag. The original American flag. The Betsy Ross version. The one James Madison wore as he was writing the Constitution.

It's time to remind people what this country stands for. Or what it stood for and needs to stand for once more.

Comments

[shawnav]

It wasn't too long ago that Democrats ceded the area of religion - particularly Christianity. A small group of right-wing neo con fear mongers ran a pretty successful marketing campaign that made the following equation "true":

family values = Christianity = Republican = not questioning the Bush administration

Because we wanted so desperately to distance ourselves from the Bush policies and to draw a distinct contrast at what we felt was a critical "us versus them" time, we ended up distancing ourselves from our faith.

Obama's infamous Democratic Convention speech that launched him to the limelight rebuked a lot of things, but the sick equation that only Bush Republicans go to church was not the least of them.

We now just need to wait for the General Election to start (worst case scenario - 127 days and counting!) and then he can really go after more substantative policy differences during his campaign. (100 years in Iraq, wanting to bomb Iran, plummeting economy Republicans created, deteriorating planet this administration kicked while it was down, deplorable health care system McCain likes just fine...just to name a few). Let's see how relevant the flag pin seems then.

[1IrishdeAztlan]

Just a note. The whole Betsy Ross making the flag thing is a myth. Check out the book, Lies My Teacher Told Me. I'd like to underline or put that title in italics, but can't seem to find the way to do that on here.

[SethBLiNK]

While he's at it, why not disown Wright and say that Americans aren't bitter.

A man at an event handed Obama a flag pin, out of courtesy I suppose. He's willing to wear one but he recognizes it for the empty gesture it is. Obama is not about doing the easy thing to make people happy. Repubicans don't own patriotism. They just own flag pin wearing. If you define patriotism as flag pin wearing you are buying their propoganda.

[LoloZ]

I wish Obama had said "where's Hillary's flag pin?" or "where's your flag pin, Charlie?"

[chronic]

Exactly! Obama is usually quicker to retort than hes been lately.

[wondering]

Patriotism is an emotional response to an accident of birth.

When I hear otherwise intelligent people use the word "patriotism" without laughing, I feel queasy. Much like when sentient adults talk about god with straight faces.

The Kinks have a wonderful line in the song "Victoria" : I was born, lucky me, in the land that I love. Weren't we all? If you lived in France or Brazil or China, would you love the country of your birth any less? Ask yourself that question, and you immediately see what a foolish, empty, base emotion patriotism truly is. The US is no more important than any other country on the map - worse than many, actually.

Patriotism is the nice name we give to nationalism when it is our own. Patriotism serves only one purpose : to convince otherwise healthy normal young men (and women) to kill or die.

Patriotism necessarily sets up an us-vs-them mentality. It can lead to only one logical conclusion - we are good, and they are bad. But that's a logic built upon a false axiom, and thus worthless.

It is an insult - a crass, immoral insult - to suggest that any soldier ever died "for the flag". (And if any soldier feels that way, they are a fool.) The flag, the Pledge of Allegiance, the Star Spangled Banner - these are mere symbols. They are no more important than apple pie or the Super Bowl. Would you kill or die for the Super Bowl?

[lvogt]

Symbols are important because they communicate big ideas simply. They are therefore also easy to abuse. Some people like to wear their heart on their sleeve (or lapel) and don't understand why others don't. It's not so sinister. It does make it easier however to con people who believe if you're wearing a pin you are sincere about it.

For me patriotism is an appreciation of my accident of birth. I am forever grateful I live under the Constitution of the United States. I am a moderately left-wing person and an Obama supporter and I look forward to having a professor of Constitutional law in office so we can return to having some respect for this most important document.

I also realize the dangers of nationalism but right now our nation and the federal government are all that we have to protect us from international corporatism. The Bush administration seems bent on destroying that protection by undermining the Constitution so I am supporting the man I believe understands and will actually take his oath of office seriously to defend and protect that Constitution. I believe that is patriotic.

Most governments in the world are far more incompetent and corrupt than our own even as bad as Bush has been and that's really bad but we have a legal underpinning in the Constitution that can save us if we remain vigilant. I believe that is patriotic.

[Swanto]

Every definition of Patriotism you offer is one that has been imposed on you. You are a perfect example of a mindset created by reflexive opposition. In you, those that have appropriated the normal human emotion of Patriotism, have succeeded in ascribing a voice to those that oppose them that is saying exactly what they want it to say.

Your remarks are anethema to the overwhelming majority of Americans, and you couldn't be doing more to advance the agenda of those you despise if you were on their payroll.

You are, apparently, an American. Why don't you take a chance and actually make an effort to redefine Patriotism to advance the concepts you belive in. Its harder than sniping, but I assume your anger does belie an inner core of beliefs that could be expressed in a positive fashion.

[kiwi77]

The flag pin is a substitute for real patriotism.
America has failed its people due to the irresponsible policies of the "real" patriots - the neo-cons and republicans. Just look at the economy, the low standing of the US with the rest of the world, the polluting of it's environment, and the growing division between red and blue and rich and poor.
Surely a real patriot would care for the poor, middle, and rich equally, let alone the war vets and wounded. Surely a real patriot wouldn't resort to labelling another American as unpatriotic without looking at the actual facts and understanding the positions of the other.
Wouldn't the character of a real patriot be to inspire other Americans to be the best they can be, not to find fault with other Americans?

[bluevillage]

No. He -- and we -- should wear a Constitution pin.

[wesinohio]

That's a great idea. It does it one better to those who prefer a company's logo to its product.

[1IrishdeAztlan]

You took the words right out of my mouth. When I say the Pledge of Allegiance, I secretly replace it with the word, "Constitution."

[patriotscholar]

Our country is in trouble, and we squabble over a flag pin? When we argue over things like this, all we do is turn our attention away from the real issues. Perhaps that is the intent.

[lapdogs]

Democrats NEVER gave up or threw away their flag!! We simply go about our daily lives. We fly the flag in our front yard or if allowed at a condo if we choose.

BUT we don't go around, FLAUNTING and BRAGGING about it to everyone who will listen or look!!

We know within ourselves that we love our country and love our flag - and what it represents.

How ironic that the same people who need to flaunt and brag about their flag pins are the same people who could give a damn about The Constitution and treat it as some piece of toilet paper!!!

THAT IS THE DIFFERENCE!!!!

[RobinL]

I like this guy precisely because he DOESN'T wear a flag pin. A flag pin immediately makes me suspicious that the person wearing one is a rogue who doesn't give a rat's ass about America and would use the Bill of Rights for toilet paper. I've had enough of flag pins to last eighteen lifetimes!

[neiltheblaze]

I think that Obama should have said he rejected wearing a flag lapel pin for the same reason one should reject wearing a flag necktie - it denigrates the flag. Making the flag a fashion accessory devalues its symbolism. Using a flag pin as a patriotism barometer denigrates patriotism.

This is a stupid, stupid issue.

[saami]

Some thoughts on Patriotism from many wise souls:

"We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it." Edward R. Murrow
"The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair." H.L. Mencken
"Moral cowardice that keeps us from speaking our minds is as dangerous to this country as irresponsible talk. The right way is not always the popular and easy way. Standing for right when it is unpopular is a true test of moral character." Margaret Chase Smith
"The government is merely a servant -- merely a temporary servant; it cannot be its prerogative to determine what is right and what is wrong, and decide who is a patriot and who isn't. Its function is to obey orders, not originate them." Mark Twain
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Theodore Roosevelt
" Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." Mark Twain

[AC500]

"It's time for Democrats to reclaim the mantle of patriotism." Really? You mean like the unquestioning patriotism that led the country into an illegal war and bankruptcy? Patriotism is the deadliest game in town because its subliminal. People abdicate their individual thinking and expression for the herd mentality that the call to patriotism stirs. Obama does not wear the PIN for this very reason. NOT WEARING the pin is an expression that I will not give up my constitutional right to individual expression, and I WILL express an opposing view to those spouting patriotic crap when that crap is clearly misguided and manipulative. On the contrary, I believe less patriotism, and the freedom and respect of individual thought and expression, are what is called for.

[Swanto]

In contemporary American politics, we have a small minority of the wealthy, who has created a paradise on earth for itself, engaged in the completely understandable process of preserving that status. They are exempt from military service, endeavor to oppose any restraint on their business, seek to depress the salaries of their employees, deny health care to the average person, pay the lowest taxes on the planet, and resist any challenge to
the processes of wealth accumulation, up to and including the destruction of nature itself if necessary. Harsh? Yes, and in some cases, unfair. But not untrue. We cannot ignore that profit was what drove such institutions as slavery and colonialism. Yet, in the assertion of self-interest we must find some sympathy. Intrinsically, however, the self- interest of this small minority is not consistent with the broader general interest of society at large. How then may we explain a political equation where those interests sometimes enjoy popular support? To give the devil his due, these are very intelligent and capable people. They have the personal qualities and financial resources required for success. As a result, even in a democratic republic, their influence in society far outweighs their actual numbers. For example, even in our current wartime condition, they have managed to wangle massive tax breaks for themselves, convincing the general public it is better to pay billions in interest on trillions borrowed rather than to make them pay what they can easily afford. How do they do this?

[Swanto]

That is a complicated question. To answer that one completely would take a more educated and brainier citizen than I. Suffice to say, I would offer only a tiny sliver of explanation in this series of articles, that portion which can be known even to one as untutored as I, and in fact, seems to me obvious even to a jack-ass. Towards explaining how a small minority can achieve electoral success I would begin by turning the question upside down and ask instead how is it that the majority in opposition consistently finds itself, in America, unable to bridle the selfish ambitions of the few? Why do progressives keep losing, allowing the majority to align itself with the interests of a rapacious minority?
My answer, in vulgar terms, is simply that the liberals in my country who have presumed the role of opposition are outclassed. They are, in the absence of a more delicate phrase, too stupid. In seeking a title for this series therefore, I was initially attracted to “Achtung Idioten”. In Achtung, we find a dawning urgency, and in Idioten, a description guaranteed to rankle sufficiently to at least guarantee a look-see. But I am persuaded by the rules of decorum to switch from the residual connotations of German to a more familiar and gentler approbation.