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Don’t Let Your Patriotism Get Co-Opted |
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Not long after the United States invaded Iraq, I went to a basketball game. Throughout my life, I had always enjoyed singing the national anthem, especially with 20,000 fellow Americans. At this game, however, I stood motionless with my hands by my side, refusing to sing or show any sign of approval as most in the crowd cheered and clapped enthusiastically. I was too ashamed at what my country was doing.
Looking back, I can’t believe I let my patriotism get co-opted like that. Like most of the country, I got fooled into believing that standing up and showing respect for the flag was the same thing as supporting President Bush’s actions. So my disagreement with the war turned into a brooding resentment of my own nation that I’m still trying to overcome.
Today, as we celebrate our 232nd birthday together, let’s not be ashamed of our country. Even though we’re still fighting in Iraq five years after “Mission Accomplished.” Even though our government is more or less impotent in the face of an economic crsis. Even though we consume six times as much of the earth’s resources as is sustainable. And even though there are thousands of other reasons for us to be dissatisfied and angry.
But like all progressives, I do love my country. And I’m tired of being told that in order to be patriotic, I have to approve of a war that is killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people, is making millions more homeless, is helping to wreck our economy, and is accomplishing pretty much nothing.
So progressives, let’s fly our flags. Let’s play some patriotic music. Let’s eat a hot dog and a piece of apple pie. And let’s remember that our Founding Fathers, the people the conservatives hold up on such a lofty pedestal, were people who spoke out boldly against the status quo and who loved their country so much they risked their lives to change it.
well said Jim