Right Wing Nut House

Barack Obama won’t wear a pin on his lapel in the shape of the American flag. Forget what that says about Obama’s feelings of patriotism or love of country. Frankly, I don’t think it says much at all. His explanation - that he wants to show his patriotism through disseminating his “ideas” about our national security is fine with me - as long as it ends there.

But it doesn’t end there. Obama (and the left has been doing this for 30 years) assumes a superior position over those who choose to fly the flag or wear a pin by casting aspersions on their motives for doing so:

“You know, the truth is that right after 9/11, I had a pin,” Obama said. “Shortly after 9/11, particularly because as we’re talking about the Iraq War, that became a substitute for I think true patriotism, which is speaking out on issues that are of importance to our national security, I decided I won’t wear that pin on my chest.

“Instead,” he said, “I’m going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great, and hopefully that will be a testimony to my patriotism.”

“You show your patriotism by how you treat your fellow Americans, especially those who serve. And you show your patriotism by being true to your values and ideals. And that’s what we have to lead with, our values and ideals,” Obama said.

The unspoken message here (actually hinted at by Obama) is that those who actually do wear lapel pins are fake patriots. “True patriotism” or “speaking out” is genuine patriotism while those who indulge themselves in flag waving or flag wearing are charlatans. After all, isn’t patriotism “the last refuge of scoundrels?”

Why is it the de facto position on the left that those who reveal outward manifestations of patriotism are, in fact, hypocrites or worse, fakes? What psychic awareness do they possess that the rest of us don’t, allowing them to glean intent and motive whenever the mood hits them to advance the notion that people who love this country and want to wear or wave the flag are, by definition, phonies?

Don’t tell me that this isn’t the unspoken message being delivered here. It’s the same kind of nonsense as the “chickenhawk” meme where the left assumes a position of moral ascendancy based on scurrilous reasoning and logic.

With the chickenhawk argument, the left’s fake superiority - due, they say to their anti-war sentiments - is easily exposed because their logic in criticizing war supporters is that they have never served. Rather than being precluded from spouting their anti-war sentiments for the exact same reason (after all, if those who haven’t served and are for the war can’t talk about the conflict because they know nothing about it, what do anti-war leftists know about the war not having served themselves that gives them the “special knowledge” to be against it?), the left had to invent the moral framework that they are the exception to the rule of not being able to speak about the war even if they haven’t served because of their superior moral position in being against the war.

In the case of public displays of patriotism, we have similar silliness. In the Obama’s world, the fact that you don’t wear a flag pin shows that you are a superior patriot - that those who indulge in such vulgar displays are as phony as a three dollar bill.

We don’t need any special mirror into the soul of liberals to say this. They convict themselves out of their own mouths so often, the arguments they make have become caricatures of liberal dogma. How often are we reminded that flag waving is “jingoistic? How many references do we get to “John Wayne” or “Rambo” when the left wants to belittle the outward expression of love of country? In fact, you would be hardpressed to come up with any praise by any liberal anywhere in the United States for any kind of show of patriotism at all. Troops being cheered coming home from Iraq? Crickets chirping on the left or worse, complaints about how this encourages “the war spirit.” Military recruiters attacked on campus? Cheer on the attackers. After all, the military is “selling” patriotism.

No chance those recruiters are sincere in their love of country, right? They just want to trap baby boys into going into the service and kill brown people. I don’t recall one single word raised in defense of the recruiters on the left after the numerous incidents where they have been assaulted.

I would say to Obama it is true you can show your love of country by espousing your ideas about our security and safety. But you can’t do it by implying those who choose a more public way to show their affection for America are somehow fakes or phonies. When Obama says that the flag pin was a “substitute for I think true patriotism,” by definition, he is saying that there is a “false patriotism” involved in supporting the Iraq War.

And that’s a pretty stupid thing to say from a guy who wants to be President.

UPDATE

I will respond to John Cole thusly:

You’re a fucking liar.

Mr. Cole:

…in a week or so, some asshole (take your pick- Ace, Michelle, Hugh Hewitt, Rush Limbaugh) will make up some bullshit lie about a Democrat (take your pick- Harry Reid, Obama, Hillary, Nancy Pelosi) in which their (again, take your pick- integrity, honesty, sexuality, patriotism) is questioned or smeared, and Rick will uncritically swallow it, bash them for a few days, and then offer a meek apology a few weeks later.

At some point you start to recognize a pattern in all of this.

What is “all this” John? Which posts? When? What was the topic?

And since you intimate that I do it all the time, I demand you supply multiple links (I believe there may have been one walk back post on something I said about a liberal a day or two following something I wrote. But never “a few weeks” - which is just something you pulled out of your ass without regard for the truth.)

Nor do I give a shit what Ace or Malkin or anyone else comes up with to “smear” the left. I don’t even read Hewitt anymore - haven’t in months. (I can read about Mitt Romney anywhere). Nor have I read Ace much - especially since he and I got into it over Scott Beauchamp. And the fact that I agree with many on the left about what Rush Limbaugh said and what he meant seems to have escaped your notice (although I think Dem pushback has been laughably over the top as has the notion that there is any equivalency whatsoever with the Moveon smear of Petreaus). This gives the lie to your charge that I use anything Rush Limbaugh says as fodder for this blog. It is also a lie to even hint I have ever taken any liberal to task over their sexual preference.

Basically, Cole couldn’t be bothered to find the truth despite the fact it was sitting on his face. In fact, he actually made an effort to remain ignorant. He just pulled crap out of thin air and plastered it on his blog - lazy and stupid.

BTW - I think I make it clear in my post that Obama is as patriotic as anyone else. My beef is not with Obama’s patriotism but with the towering hypocrisy of the left that they grant themselves a superior kind of patriotism” via dissent while smearing those who outwardly manifest their patriotism as fakes or phonies. The day liberals can prove to me that they have psychic gifts that allow them to peer into the souls of men and come away with a judgement regarding their honesty and integrity is the day I stop calling them out for their arrogant sanctimony.

Cole lied about “pattern recognition” and he lied about what I wrote this morning. And the idea that just because I diss the GOP doesn’t mean I can’t come down on liberals like a ton of bricks if I so choose is ridiculous (which I think you were trying to say although coherence is not a hallmark of your writing). The fact is, both parties are full of it. And the destructive ideology driving both bases will probably kill us all in the end.