Political analysis
The Liberal View of Patriotism
- By Edward L. Daley
- April 04, 2007
The other day I heard a liberal assert that patriotism is really just xenophobia wearing a happy face, and that people who wave the flag and shout “God bless America” are nothing but ignorant fools, full of false pride and hatred for foreign cultures.
This attitude is typical of many left-wingers these days, and it’s not too hard to understand how they could arrive at such a conclusion. They’re extremely ignorant people, who are unable to appreciate the fact that many of their fellow citizens have a deep, unwavering love for their country, and the basic moral rightness for which it stands.
After all, it’s difficult to comprehend the greatness of America unless one understands its history, and liberals are sorely lacking in that sort of education. Take, for instance, the liberal contention that the United States is no better than any other nation, because some Americans used to be slave owners, and our government once wiped out entire populations of American Indians. Well, in the first place, slavery, while it was a truly obscene practice, only lasted in this country for a little over 80 years, which is far less than it lasted in virtually every other country on the planet. And whatever you may think about the issue, never forget that hundreds of thousands of Americans sacrificed their lives in order to put an end to it.
As far as killing off the indigenous people of this continent, it’s not like they were all just sitting around minding their own business when we attacked them. Yeah, we went to war against the Indians, and some of the things we did were vicious, ugly, and unjust, but let’s not delude ourselves into thinking that they were all virtuous innocent bystanders. The Indians did a whole lot of slaughtering themselves, not only of white people, but of other Indians long before we ever showed up. So I think it’s only appropriate that we try to maintain just a little bit of perspective on the matter.
There’s also the leftist view that America is not the great nation that the patriots among us believe it to be, because equality has not been achieved among all its citizens. What they fail to understand is that there is no such thing as absolute equality among people. There never has been, nor will there ever be. It’s a practical impossibility.
Simply possessing the same rights as everyone else does not in any way, guarantee a person equality of outcome in any endeavor. Nor can laws change the fact that some people are superior to others in all sorts of ways. Is there any question that some folks are smarter than most of us, more athletic, more artistic, more motivated, or more physically attractive to the general population? Of course not. Why then should we assume that everyone is capable of achieving the same level of economic success in their lives? Indeed, what makes liberals think that there aren’t some people who are completely undeserving of success, due to their own lack of hard work?
The only equality anyone can ask for is equality under the law, and if some other country has a better system of justice than ours, I’d like to hear about it.
Left-wingers also whine endlessly about American imperialism, even though they clearly have no grasp of what that term implies. If the United States was an imperialist nation, the Cold War never would have happened, because we would have obliterated the Soviet Union in 1945, and then established American-style governments and economic systems in every country we felt like controlling. No nation on earth was in a position to challenge us once we developed nuclear weapons, but we didn’t set about taking over the world, because modern Americans are not conquerors, we’re liberators.
Still, few liberals are willing to make the sort of moral distinctions necessary to differentiate between countries like this one and the former Soviet Union. Most of the time they behave like moral relativists, who seem incapable of identifying evil when they see it. Of course, if the subject happens to turn to something like conservatism, their demeanors suddenly change. They have no problem treating right-wingers as if they were the spawn of Satan himself, but when it comes to someone like Joseph Stalin, why, he was just a poor, misunderstood schlub.
Oh, and let’s not forget that America is also a horribly racist country, or so leftists would have us believe. Aside from being the descendants of slavers and genocidal maniacs, the white majority routinely seeks to disenfranchise black voters, prevent Hispanics from entering the country, profile Arab-looking people at airports, and railroad virtually every non-white criminal suspect we can get our grubby little hands on. Of course, it doesn’t seem to matter at all that a disproportionately high number of criminals in this country are non-white, that the vast majority of terrorists are Arab-looking, that millions of Hispanics have entered the U.S. illegally, or that there’s been practically no evidence of black voter disenfranchisement anywhere in the country in recent times.
For the most part, liberals who cry racism at every turn are racists themselves, choosing to exploit the issue of skin color whenever they feel it will afford them some sort of political or social advantage. In fact, they are even more dangerous, potentially, than neo-Nazis or the KKK, because they don’t admit they’re racists. At least you know a skinhead when you see one.
These left-wing bigots are the same people who delight in telling everyone how awful this country is, and how ashamed we should be for all the horrors we’ve inflicted on the innocent people of the world throughout our history. And while they may not make up the majority of liberals in this country, they are almost never challenged by other leftists for being utterly despicable cretins.
No, their left-leaning confederates are too busy referring to patriotism as the foolish antics of a bunch of redneck simpletons, who think everyone else in the world sucks. Well, patriotism is NOT foolishness, nor is it an expression of unwarranted pride. Patriotism in this country is born of the understanding that we are among the most honorable and decent people on earth, in spite of our flaws, and it’s kept alive by an overwhelming desire to make sure that our children are left with at least as much freedom and prosperity as we enjoy.
American patriots appreciate just how lucky they are to live in this country. They understand how many people sacrificed everything to get us to this point, and how many more sacrifices will have to be made to keep us here. True patriots don’t go around telling people from other countries how superior Americans are to them. They don’t hate anybody who hasn’t exhibited a hatred for America first, and they’re perfectly willing to let other countries be, just as long as they don’t threaten America’s interests.
Patriotic Americans also understand that you can’t build up your country if you spend all your time trying to tear it down, and I’ve yet to meet a liberal who hasn’t attempted to wreck some aspect of American culture at some point in their lives.
While it is the right, and even the duty, of all Americans to question their government from time to time, ridiculing the American culture, and demeaning the remarkable efforts of our ancestors simply because some of them did horrible things, is as contemptible as it is narrow-minded.
Liberals love to preach to the rest of us about tolerance and understanding, but when put to the one test that matters the most, they reveal themselves to be as intolerant as any group of people can be. They act as if there’s something wrong with Americans choosing to embrace all that is good and right about our country, instead of habitually focusing on its faults, and I for one resent their attitude.
America may not be the best it can be, but it’s a whole hell of a lot better than the socialist utopia envisioned by people on the left these days. Given the choice between associating with some whiny, blame-America-first liberal, or a proud, flag-wavin’ redneck, all I’ve got to say is toss me one o’ them there brews, Bubba, and fire up the barbecue!
In the words of the late John Wayne, “Sure I wave the American flag. Do you know a better flag to wave? Sure I love my country with all her faults. I’m not ashamed of that, never have been, never will be.”
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This has got to be the most ignorant, simplistic assessment of America I’ve ever seen. And you call liberals ignorant. Frankly, the strawman argument you outline in your first paragraph is wholly supported by your inaccurate, subjective BS.
Slavery lasted 80 years? Where’d you get that, your “Bullshit statistics for dishonest racists” handbook? At least you were only off by less than 2 centuries—not bad for a “patriot.”
412 days ago by smartypants liberal
God bless you sir. You’ve articulated your point very well. I get so tired of the growing number of liberal whiners and do-nothings that seem to be emerging in this great land of ours. You’re right about focusing on what is good rather than highlighting and wallowing in what is bad.
The haters of this country will be so sorry if and when the enemy hits this country again. I know that they (Liberals) would be the last people I’d let get on the life boat i was on…...don’t forget who your family is Liberal Americans.
412 days ago by Kramer Cosmo
Slavery in the United States of America lasted from the time the colonies became completely free of British rule in 1783 to the end of the Civil War in 1865… that’s 82 years.
412 days ago by Edward L. Daley
Smarty pants Liberal validates your position beautifully. While he is correct that slavery in America is older than 50 years (you might update that), he chooses to hone in on that one fact in order to invalidate the rest of your position. A classic maneuver by someone who does not have the intellectual depth to mount a serious and convincing argument.
He does not have a counter-argument himself, but he has found a crack in the armor and has latched on to it. The depth of his argument is apparently limited to your one fairly small inaccuracy. Touché liberal brainiac….you’ve certainly shown how much smarter you are than everyone else. Way to bridge the gap and bring people together…..hhhmmm…i wonder why most people seem to despise Liberal ideology and those who suck it’s tiny penis of ideological insecurity.
412 days ago by Smoking It
You can’t judge the actions of the past by the morality of today. Slavery has existed since the begriming of time. It was considered normal throughout the world until the emancipation movement for the late 18th century. Likewise Manifests Destiny evolved from the concept of, the “White Mans Burden”, another accepted morality of the time.
To paraphrase Winston Churchill, “America is the worst Country save all others”. We have our blemishes and foibles, however on the scale of justice and liberty, today, we rank higher than any other country
411 days ago by James E. Fish
“This attitude is typical of many left-wingers…..They’re extremely ignorant people…”
Ergo, every University Professor, every Emriutus Chair who leans left (and there area few) is ignorant? The statement speaks to the ignoranace of the writer, not the liberals. For example, the reverse argument that therefore people with right wing attitudes must be supremely intelligent puts George Bush in a very different light to what I am used to seeing. Generalisations don’t work on either side of the fence, get them out of your argument or NO ONE will listen to word you have to say (rightly or wrongly).
“After all, it’s difficult to comprehend the greatness of America unless one understands its history..”
Not completely wrong but enough to warrant comment. The attitude of every nationalist is rooted in history. The above argument however could have come as easily from Adolf Hitler as the writer. So should we give weight to, or even consider the argument?
The rest of the piece is just jingoistic rubbish and not really worth commenting on, other than to say it is exactly people like this who give America a bad name. This is all we see, George Bush and him!
I am not American. I am Australian. I don’t think America is all that great. Any more than I think any country is “Great”. Nice, with some really wonderful people, but nothing so special. If you travelled more, you’d comprehend. Try France, Spain, New Zealand, Norway, even Canada! (sorry Canuks, he must learn)
I kinda like our little patch down here where jingositic nationalism and right wing Nazism is kept to a bare minimum. Dont see many Nazis in the pubs down here.
Yes, I lean left. But the my two Uni degrees, coupled with a social conscience and $100k+ current salary have probabaly made me as ignorant as I am. So it’s not my fault.
Scratches his ignorance gene and walks off muttering something about getting a better pair next time
405 days ago by Paul Jaros
To Paul Jaros,
You are the good hearted fool the author speaks of. Admittedly, you see no greatness in a nation. Of course, you live in Australia so how could you? It’s a nation founded by rejects and criminals. I don’t blame you for not understanding what it means to have a deep sense of patriotism and responsibility to mankind. Don’t get me too wrong, I love most Australians that I’ve met. However, the Aussie story is not nearly as rich as those of so many other nations-mainly the United States.
402 days ago by George
Hey Paul Jaros, I have traveled. I’ve traveled to all the places you specified other than Norway. They are all shitholes that denounce the US (Like you) yet seem to be aspiring to be like it at every turn (turn on a television set).
Don’t give me your retarded view all the way from Australia about a country as Noble as the US. If any country is noble, it’s the US. What/where would all the other countries you reference including the Canuks be without the US? They’d be worse shitholes than they are today…..... I love hearing these foreign retards tell me how shitty this country is while they do their best to emulate it and benefit from our economy. You give Australia and a President Howard a bad name you asshole.
402 days ago by PROUD TO BE FREE
“Yes, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it” George Santayana.
Perhaps ‘Great” is the wrong term, but you must agree some countries are better than others. I doubt you would trade your freedoms in Australia for the repression of China. All countries are not equal in terms of freedom, liberty and justice. Failure to recognize this is either blindness or ignorance.
399 days ago by James E. Fish
I started to leave a comment on this, talking about the incompatibility of true patriotism with blind party allegiance and patriotism as a defensive posture.
It ended up almost as long as the original article. Rather than clutter up the comments here with something that lengthy, I’ve posted it on my own weblog. If you’re in the mood for a mini-rant from a “militant moderate,” give it a read.
395 days ago by Adam Messinger