How To Tell If You're An Unpatriotic Butt-Head
Dean
Have you ever noticed how certain people are in the habit of saying things like "how dare you question my patriotism"--even when no one has actually questioned it?
Patriotism isn't dead. But since some people seem to have forgotten what patriotism looks like (or sadly never learned in the first place), here's a handy test you can take: Symptoms of Unpatriotic Butt-Headedness
#1) You think publishing slanderous allegations about American troops based on nothing but hearsay is "good journalism."
#2) You believe that news stories which show gloom and doom and pessimism and failure for our troops at war constitutes nothing but good reporting--but that stories of heroism, major accomplishment, building friendships with people in foreign lands, and victory by our forces is "touting the Administration line."
#3) You refer to the war as "The President's war" as opposed to "America's war."
#4) You believe that America is an evil, bullying, racist empire that is sliding into fascism.
#5) You think the average American voter is a stupid, unsophisticated idiot who just doesn't know what's good for him.
#6) You believe that the sentiments expressed here are "conservative," "right-wing" or "Republican."
#7) You think Michael Moore's movie Fahrenheit 9/11 is anything other than vile fascist hate-propaganda.
#8) You find nothing offensive at all about burning an American flag.
#9) You think that just because you have a right to say or do something, that makes it defensible.
#10) When America has an enemy that slaughters our people, your first and foremost reaction is "we must have really offended them--we should figure out why so they won't be mad at us anymore."
#11) You think American foreign policy is the primary explanation for world poverty, suffering, injustice, and terrorism. (We may offend people sometimes, and do wrong sometimes--we aren't perfect after all--but the primary explanation for these things?)
#12) You believe that if anyone questions your patriotism, that person is employing "McCarthyite tactics" or is a closet fascist who is threatening your freedom of expression. (We didn't threaten your freedom of expression, butthead--we used our freedom of expression to express our opinion of you. You unpatriotic butthead.)
Unpatriotic butt-headedness has nothing to do with what political party you're aligned with, who you voted for in the last election, who you plan to vote for, whether you like certain politicians, or whether you agree with the current administration's policies.
It means you don't trash your own people. It means that if your country's at war, even if you have reservations about that war you know that it's your war too--and you know to express dissent patriotically, with love and passion and thoughtfulness and respect--not hatred and resentment and defeatism.
It means you understand that partisanship ends at the nation's shores. It means that you know that even if you don't like the people in charge at the White House or Congress today, we all have a chance to change it every two or four years. It means you understand that there will always be screwups and unpleasant surprises and disappointments and that obsessing over these things is defeatist rubbish. It means you don't call people "liars" for disagreeing with you, or when they might be just plain wrong.
In short, you love your country more than your own narrow, selfish interests.
Anyone else got any suggestions?
* Update * Sign #13 that you're an unpatriotic butthead: Your name is Dan Kennedy, and you work for the Boston Phoenix, and you try wrap your nasty, anti-military, kneejerk reactionary views in the cloak of "criticisms of the administration's policies."
Sign #14: You think the entire American military and its efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq should be viewed through the lens of Abu Ghraib.
Related Posts (on one page):
- Reporting and Patriotism
- Hacks And Boneheads
- How To Tell If You're An Unpatriotic Butt-Head
Corollary: You think Europeans* who are polite and somewhat diffident are lofty-minded, even spiritual, guardians of the sort of sophistication and subtlety that our television culture threatens to eradicate--but that other Americans who are polite and somewhat diffident are namby-pamby, have a nagging fear that they're intellectually outclassed, or are unwilling to face up squarely to the hard truths that every other society on earth is conversant with.
* and to a lesser extent Asians, Africans, and Latin Americans (I say lesser because they're less frequently genuflected to, not because I think they're lesser people)
Sorry, man, but it was worth it not to have some stray Kiwi start bellowing, "What are we, then, chopped liver?!"
Some of us icky warmongers actually wait for people to say something like "solidarity to the freedom fighters in Iraq" or "kill US soldiers" or similar before pondering that maybe, just maybe, some people are a mite bit unpatriotic. ;)
#1) If it's true, it's good journalism. If it's not true, it isn't.
#2) The MSM is lazy and sensationalist. It would be nice to get a balance, but in the run up to the war they presented only roses and parades.
#3) Now that we're at war, it is America's war and we need to "win". But we were definately b.s'ed into it.
#4-#5) I agree with you Dean, it's not... though I don't like our support of Mussharif, the Saudi's and other autocratic/despotic regimes.
#6) Um, Dean, they are conservative. Intelligent conservative, which is why I come here, but still conservative.
#7) I don't know about fascist... but I'll agree that it was "vile hate-propoganda", though it really was more stupid than anything.
#8) Agree with you Dean.. people confuse the government with the nation, so they think that burning the flag is protesting the government, not realizing is symbolizes the nation, not the government.
#9) This cuts both ways.
#10) See my #10 below.
#11) See my #11 below.
#12) I just wish that conservatives would understand that not liking the government isn't the same as not loving your country and that thinking that we shouldn't go to war isn't the same as not supporting the troops. Stop using the label of "unpatriotic" to avoid addressing my arguments. I thought dislike of government was a conservative belief? Or is it "the government is bad, unless it's killing people".
I can toss out my own caricature:
You are an idiotic, blind sheep, conservative if:
#1) You think that publishing TRUE stories about the problems and failing of some American troops is "helping our enemies". (Abu Ghraib perhaps?)
#2) You believe that when the Bush Administration is incorrect in it's statements based on unbsubstantiated allegations and unreliable sources which results in thousands of deaths, that it is "simply mistaken". When an MSM news source does the same it, but might have possibly resulted in 10-20 deaths, is "slanderous allegations".
#3) You believe that Iraq was in some was responisble for 9/11 and that they had actual ties to Al-Quaeda.
#4) You believe that America is The Way, The Truth and The Light(tm) and that all of our foreign policy is in support of Democracy(tm) and Freedom(tm).
#5) You think that a getting 51% of the votes is a Mandate(tm).
#6) You believe that the Administration never affected intelligence gathered to support an invasion of Iraq. (Say, like Rumsfeld creating a new intelligence department because they didn't like what the CIA was saying about Iraq not having a viable Weapons of Mass Destruction(tm) program.)
#7) You think that MSM is "liberal", rather than "lazy and sensationalist". (Re-check the MSM's role as cheerleader for the Iraq war during the run up and initial invasion.)
#8) You find nothing at all offensive about torture.
#9) You think that any statement that disagrees with the Administration that it is indefensible.
#10) When we are attacked, you think that it could _only_ be because they are Evil(tm) and Hate Our Freedom(tm), rather than thinking that maybe decades of support for despotic regimes around the world had _some_ part to play in it.
#11) You think that American foreigh policy is has _zero_ effect in causing some of the world's poverty, suffering, injustice, and terrorism.
#12) You believe that questioning the Bush Administration in any way is unpatriotic, especially when it is things like the fact that there are STILL unarmored hummers in Iraq.
Again, all that being said, I acknowledge that there are people who fit your profile completely, and I do agree that tehy are "unpatriotic". I also agree with Patrick that there are a$$h*les on the left that believe in "solidarity to the freedom fighters in Iraq". (I know the terrorists in Iraq aren't "noble Iraqi citizens fighting imperial US occupation".)
But, I still think that the Bush Administration is bad for the country and the world and that we were "incorrectly informed" before invading Iraq. (I'm doing research when I have time, which isn't much lately. The "immediate threat" was the reson we went to war. I know you all disagree, so I'm gathering quotes and facts for this.)
You think Jane Fonda really was speaking in the best interests of humanity, the US military, and the Vietnamese people.
You consider anything that shows the US (any form of it...government, military, NON'stingy' list...) to be propaganda for the 'Military Industrial Complex' (or some other such rot) while showing beheadings of people begging for their lives is supporting 'freedom' and 'religious tolerance'.
You truly believe that all US miltiary personel are 'baby killing, rapist, war criminals' and that the Nazis got a bad name from the Allies. (This happens to border on some 'supporters' and their fears of a JOOISH consipricy to rule the world.)
It was, until the conservatives were suddenly in control of government.
Anarchy is not now, nor has ever been a conservative belief. Hell, even most libertarians aren't anarchists.
Gov't does have a right (i.e. correct) and proper purpose. Defending the citizenry from those who would just as soon saw off your head as talk to you would be one of them.
#2) You believe that when the Bush Administration is incorrect in it's statements based on unbsubstantiated allegations and unreliable sources which results in thousands of deaths, that it is "simply mistaken". When an MSM news source does the same it, but might have possibly resulted in 10-20 deaths, is "slanderous allegations".
You mean unreliable sources such as the UN, France, Germany, Russia, Bill Clinton and others? Possession of WMD was widely accepted. The contention was on what to do about it. Newsweek, however, used a single anonymous source who's corroboration was that two people didn't tell him it wasn't true.
#5) You think that a getting 51% of the votes is a Mandate(tm).
Even while Clinton getting something like 46-48% was.
#7) You think that MSM is "liberal", rather than "lazy and sensationalist". (Re-check the MSM's role as cheerleader for the Iraq war during the run up and initial invasion.)
Even though the administration said on many occasions that the war would take much longer than the press was reporting. How long did it take for the "The admin told us this would be a cakewalk" meme to start? Convenient.
#12) You believe that questioning the Bush Administration in any way is unpatriotic, especially when it is things like the fact that there are STILL unarmored hummers in Iraq.
And there will quite likely always be unarmored hummers in Iraq. There's is something called scarcity of resources. Supply shortages are nothing new to warfare. In an imperfect world, there is always going to be "something we could have done". What army material would you give up to have armored all the hummers first? Body armor, artillery shells, ammunition, armoring other vehicles? If they had made your trade, would others complain about those shortages too?
Has Bush made mistakes, sure. I think we should have cleaned out Falluja the first time. No war is perfect so you can't let perfect be the enemy of the good.
The "immediate threat" was the reson we went to war.
Even though Bush's SOTU said that waiting for Iraq to become an immediate threat is not an option.
In any case, I thought it was WMD that was the reason, or was it enforcing the UN resolution was the reason, or was the reason because Saddam tried to kill W's "daddy", or was it...
BK
We were wrong about WMDs. Sadly, because Democrats chose the vile and hateful "Bush lied" line, we were prevented from doing the honorable and constructive thing and putting our energy into figuring out what we missed and, more importantly, where those weapons went. The left wanted a witch hunt instead--it's something I still haven't forgiven them for.
As for the rest: I don't have any strong disagreements with most of it (except that Moore is indeed a fascist propagandist by any reasonable definition--more on that some other day. That, and calling patriotism conservative strikes me as just plain sad.)
"That, and calling patriotism conservative strikes me as just plain sad."
Sigh.... *weak smile and head shake*. Ok, first off, not everything you post here is conservative, sorry that I implied that (which re-reading what I posted, I did).
I think we disagree on our definition of patriotism..... no I take that back. I think we disagree on how to express our patriotism.
#13) You think Joe McCarthy was worse than Owen Lattimore, Walter Duranty, Alger Hiss, and the other Communist Fifth Columnists who sold us and the hundreds of millions of the people of China (another ancient and great civilization) down the river.
#14) You hate Senator McCarthy (who embarrassed a few Communists or Communist fellow travellers) more than you hate Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Castro (who murdered some 160,000,000 human beings).
Steven Malcolm Anderson may be a ****ing ***hole m*r*n b*st*rd, but at least he is an American ****ing ***h*le m*r*n b*st*rd.