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4.11.2003
Flying the Flag Says "I Love You!" an editorial I see people flying their flags on their vehicles, and my first response is: "What? So we don't forget which country we're in?" Did I accidently cross the border, am I in Mexico now? I assume that if you live in America you have some warm fuzzy feelings for it. The whole "They hate America" thing is stupid. It usually equates love of government for love of country. Not the same thing by any stretch of the imagination. Love of government seems to change with who sits at the Oval Office desk. Did the eight year witch hunt during Clinton's reign mean the the right wing people hated America because they wanted to humiliate the Democratic president? Not hardly. It was a huge waste of time and money but they had a certain right to expect accountability from the president. The same holds true for Bush and his decision to drag us into a Middle East war. But that was sex and this is war. I'm sure an opinion poll would reveal that many more people like sex more than war. Except Republicans I guess, who want to make sex illegal but war is "A-Ok with me!". But I digress... There are some that say, "If you don't tell your loved ones you love them then how will they know you do?" Well, it depends. Some people like saying "I love you" and some people like hearing it. Others seem to think that what you say matters less than what you feel or do. I fall into the second category. Saying something is fine and all, but do you really feel that way? I would even go so far to say that expressing your feelings over-often makes it less special. Its a bit like getting flowers everyday, at some point you say "Ok, enough already!". I never really tell my parents that I love them, but they know I do. I would feel silly saying it, because it would be like "yeah... I know.. what do you want?" And vice versa my parents never tell me that they love me but they don't have to, they would do almost anything for me, and have on many occasions. But I suppose some people would be appalled at the lack of open expression in my family. But really, don't we all know people that say anything to get what they want? If you don't act like you say then people know you're a fake. So its really more about how you act then what you express. Saying something is easy, too easy. The more I think about it the more I find patriotism confusing. Its love of your country, but that should be conditional or else its meaningless. And in America that means that you love your rights granted to you by the democratic government. But somehow demanding accountability means you are unpatriotic, and mindless cheerleading of anything your country does is considered patriotism. This puts that variety of patriotism on par with cheering on a sports team. You cheer them because they represent you in some way. But really, is a freak of geography and birth enough to warrant support? Apparently not as we asked the Iraqi people to lay down their arms and let the US military come in. We were scared that the Iraqi people would defend the Saddam Hussein regime because it represented their society, not because they respected it. We said that they should dump their government because it doesn't deserve their allegiance. In effect we said that love of country IS NOT the same as love of government. But if this is so obvious then why is asking our government to earn its right to represent us so un-patriotic? Its a game of mental twister, not a game I like much. So what does flying an American flag say. It says you love this country. But is saying that enough. Isn't being informed, part of the decision making process, asking politicians to represent you, and taking to the streets when your mad part of being an American? Dosen't that say "I love you" the same as flying a flag. Being engaged in the political process is at the heart of what America represents to many people. So why does flying the flag seem to represent the lack of dissent? Lack of debate? Isn't it like telling your loved ones you love them but not showing it? Or did I take a wrong turn somewhere? Dondé Esta, Mexico? Si Señor. | |
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