Singing Potatoes
Previous — Main Page — Up to Archive — Next
Tuesday, 25 September 2001
Patriotism

I'm getting really tired of all the Johnnie-come-lately patriotism; I've actually heard people criticizing other people for not putting flags on their cars, or for not wearing red-white-and-blue ribbons. People have been screaming at Wal-Mart cashiers because their stores are sold out of flags; all of a sudden, it seems that being a "True American" entails owning a flag. Why none of these people felt the need to be True Americans before the tragedy, but consider it a matter of utmost importance only now, is a complete mystery to me.

Then again, I've owned an American flag for years. And as corny as it sounds, it stirs something in me. It's a symbol of what this country is supposed to be, but rarely is.

Even now, John Ashcroft and men like him are seeking to make the "Land of the Free" quite a bit less free, in ways that abrogate American citizens' freedoms far more than they can possibly hinder terrorist actions. In the past two weeks, a number of talking heads -- including the President -- have claimed that the terrorist attacks were launched because "they" hate the freedom that America represents.

If our response is to diminish our own freedoms, then "they" have won.

Posted by godfrey (link)
Previous — Main Page — Up to Archive — Next