Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

The Opinions of Mankind

For the 4th of July, I have some thoughts on patriotism and America's reputation.

Contrast the current government's ideals with those of the country's founders:

Wm. Scott Harrop and R.K. Ramazani | "A Decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind ..."
For Truthout, Wm. Scott Harrop and R.K. Ramazani write: "Irony abounds in President George W. Bush's decision to speak at Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, on the last July 4th that he will occupy the Oval Office. For it was Jefferson who wrote in America's Declaration of Independence that 'a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires' the colonies to set forth the reasons for their rebellion before a 'candid world.' America's founders agreed - international legitimacy mattered. Two hundred and thirty-two years later, the conscious disregard for the 'opinions of mankind' has come to define the Bush presidency.


Thoughts on what patriotism really means:

Michael Winship | What Patriotism Is, and Is Not
Michael Winship, for Truthout, writes about false accusations against Obama's patriotism, "Chances are, many of the perpetrators of this nonsense think they're being patriots, saving us from Obama and ourselves. And goodness knows, there's a long history of this kind of guttersnipery in American politics. As Obama pointed out in his Monday speech on the nature of patriotism, 'Thomas Jefferson was accused by the Federalists of selling out to the French. The anti-Federalists were just as convinced that John Adams was in cahoots with the British and intent on restoring monarchal rule ... the use of patriotism as a political sword or a political shield is as old as the Republic.'"



"My country right or wrong. If right, to be kept right. If wrong, to be made right." -- Carl Schurz

Finally, and most importantly, remember the fundamentals:

The Declaration of Independence

The Constitution

Many of the ideals in those documents were, and remain, ahead of their time. They are nevertheless grand, glorious ideals worth striving towards. Despite a history that contains slavery, genocide, and a host of other ghastly mistakes ... America's heart is in the right place. Follow that.
Tags: holiday, politics
Subscribe

  • Post a new comment

    Error

    switch
    default userpic

    Your IP address will be recorded 

    When you submit the form an invisible reCAPTCHA check will be performed.
    You must follow the Privacy Policy and Google Terms of use.
    Help
  • 8 comments
glitteringlynx

glitteringlynx

July 4 2008, 10:16:18 UTC 12 years ago

I don't get the people who are upset that Obama won't wear a flag pin. IT'S A BLOODY PIN!! Patriotism has nothing to do with a bit of flair or metal. It's much more than simply wearing a pin, that's for certain.
glitteringlynx

glitteringlynx

July 4 2008, 10:20:54 UTC 12 years ago

The way I phrased that, I seem to be contradicting myself with the last two sentences, so I want to clarify before anyone else brings it up. :)

Patriotism is not about wearing pins. Sure, a pin can be representative of your patriotism, but in the end it is just a pin with no inherent meaning. Patriotism is much more than wearing something like that to show how strong your feelings are for your country. Actions speak much louder than a piece of metal ever could.

As an outsider looking in, I do not question Obama's patriotism in his own country at all.
ysabetwordsmith

ysabetwordsmith

July 4 2008, 16:43:39 UTC 12 years ago

I think people get caught up in the "pin" issue because they have been trained by an advertising industry that believes in "sell the sizzle, not the stake." So they are far more attracted to appearance than to substance: you can abuse them any way you want, as long as you know the right mouth-noises and signs to make. Thus they don't recognize destructive politicians as such, who wear a pin but undermine the Constitution itself.

It used to be the case that people respected the flag itself in some very concrete ways. When I learned flag handling as a Girl Scout, there were rules like:

* The flag is to be hung at dawn and retired at dusk, with due ceremony.
* The flag is not to be left out in the rain or other inclement weather.
* The flag is never to touch the ground.
* A damaged flag must immediately be retired and burned, with due ceremony.

The rules were actually changed officially some years ago so that you can leave the flag up all the time. Few people bother to take one down even if it becomes tattered. About the only thing left is they'll lower it to half-mast for certain holidays or mourning times. They're just ... lazy.

Another thing is that, once upon a time, the flag was never anything else but an actual FLAG. The image of the American flag was not to be printed upon any other object, especially disposable ones, because that was disrespectful. No flag jewelry or napkins or underwear or whatever other fool thing some merchant might devise. You want an acid test for those pin-wearing politicians? Remind them of this old rule, suggest that flag products should be retired as disrespectful, and watch how fast they backpedal because that would offend the Companies.
dulcinbradbury

dulcinbradbury

July 4 2008, 17:58:34 UTC 12 years ago

::nods:: I grew up with those rules too. My father (ex-Navy) puts out the flag & takes it in during the summer when the weather is reasonable.

When I was in grammar school, the older kids would take turns putting up & taking down the flag for the day. Including folding it & not letting it touch the ground.
browngirl

browngirl

July 4 2008, 13:57:50 UTC 12 years ago

That's only because you have sense.

*grin*

I respect Senator Obama more for not participating in the reflexive flag-displaying that happened after 9/11, which was part of a wave of jingoism that really sickened me, seeing it all around me. I'm not going to go into further detail here, but I wanted to say that I *completely* agree with you on this.
ysabetwordsmith

ysabetwordsmith

July 4 2008, 16:48:02 UTC 12 years ago

I wonder if Obama knows the old rule about not putting the flag's image on anything but an actual flag. I suspect not, or he'd probably have mentioned it. More likely he just prefers substance to show -- an asset as a person, but often not in a campaign. Fortunately he seems to have enough charisma to make up for it. *sigh* Sometimes you have to put a false horn on a real unicorn so people will see it.