Do I Digress...I Do...I Do

Well, again I am going to depart from the story that is my life, and get back up on my “soapbox.”

I have alluded to it before, but I have to really go on the record and state what bothers me so very much about some Conservatives. It is their willingness to “label” those individuals who don’t agree with them as unpatriotic, even going so far as to imply that they are traitors to their country.

Let’s do a bit of defining…a Patriot is simply one who feels love or devotion to their country. I am a Patriot, but in the true definition that also rejects nationalism and embraces social responsibility.

What the Radical Right…whether it be journalists, radio personalities, or politicians...refer to as Patriotism is nothing more than Jingoism.

Let’s define that…Jingoism is an extreme form of patriotism, it is more nationalistic belligerence, it advocates force or threats of force to accomplish what is perceived to be good for the country. It creates an excessive bias, and fosters an attitude that one’s own country is superior to all others.

I am a Patriot, but I have lived long enough, and seen enough abuses of power and position to be very skeptical of the direction that the Conservatives are trying to lead this country. I am a history scholar and a history buff…I know the things that America has done that have made her far from perfect.

We have come a long way in my lifetime…but we have committed our share of atrocities. One of the things that “makes my blood boil” is the hypocrisy that many Americans demonstrate by their condemnation of governments and dictatorships…when we put many of them into power. The CIA put Saddam Hussein in power, and hundreds of vicious warlords in South East Asia.

We condemn the assassination of leaders that are friendly to our government…and plan and execute elected officials who are thought to challenge our positions. We advocate human rights and yet we don’t acknowledge that we had a number of genocidal incidents such as: the massacre of Sand Creek and the Wounded Knee massacre. The Mei Lei Massacre and similar acts that were committed in Iraq were not aberrations, but events in a long line of atrocities which have been committed by the United States in the name of the greater good.

I am a Patriot, I love this country...but I also acknowledge it's warts.

Until next time...