Unpatriotic Left
If a conservative desires to irrate a liberal, one sure-fire way is to label him or her unpatriotic. Such a crass intonation creates a tinge of instant anger. Liberals (especially anti-war liberals) hate when anyone dares question their patriotism.
Yet, at times what spills out of the liberal mouth is full of distaste for our Nation’s heritage. Mark Graber, from the blog Balkanization, wrote the following:
The Fourth of July may be a difficult holiday for those with pacifist tendencies. Not the least of the bad practices associated with independence day is the American tendency to define oppression downwards. Might Americans have been better off forming an independent nation in 1776. Of course. But whether the level of injustice justified shooting a lot of people strikes me as dubious, at best. And worse, when we teach our children that conditions in 1776 were so oppressive as to justify violence, they are inclined to think of oppression indiscriminately.
The Fourth of July may be a “difficult” holiday for peace-lovers? Give me a break. Hey Mark, do you think that the Brits were going to hand us our country on a silver platter? I don’t believe George Washington and the others wanted to fight for their freedoms, but they did–valiantly. They were courageous instead of weak (like the French). Independence Day is only difficult for the feckless and those who despise our Nation’s history and forbears.
What are the other bad practices of Independence Day? Political incorrectness? Killing the enemy? Defending one’s family from harm?
Gradner’s tasteless quip implies that any type of violent aggression undertaken by any nation-state is not justifiable. In his view, because our nation and nationalism was born of a bloody Revolutionary War, the independence declared and won by the United States is not worth celebrating.
Patriotism is loyalty and love for one’s country. The United States is a Nation bred of hard work, war, determination, and allegiance to God. The Fourth of July celebrates these ideals and the freedoms we enjoy because of our progenitors. To shame their memory by whining about their heroic actions reeks of disloyalty and aversion. Such an attitude and feeling, in my view, is simply not patriotic.