Happy 4th of July everyone, trolls included.
They really love America, they just drank too much kool-aid when they were little trollettes.
Have a safe 4th everyone. For me, this 4th of July means very little. It's difficult to celebrate our freedoms when we are systemically dismantling them.
Posted by Judith at July 4, 2006 03:36 AMHere is part of an article from HuffingtonPost:
Given the misuse to which the word "patriot" has been applied over the years, and the damage that word has done in this country in the last few years alone, it might be hard to persuade progressives to try to reclaim it. But it's time we did.
Today, as speakers beat the word "freedom" into meaningless submission, we should try to identify our own positive feelings about this country. Is it in a stubborn belief in the possibility of good and brotherhood? A spirit of dissidence, and challenging authority? Free speech? Separation of church and state? Wide open spaces, Route 66, jazz, hip-hop, suburbia, McDonald's? Hollywood? What might we feel about America if we were exiles? Which, in a real political sense, we have been.
This Fourth of July, we should begin to forge an intellectual and emotional basis for redefining patriotism. We can feel hope for the future of our culture and pride in our heritage without allowing that sentiment to be transformed into the kind of blind patriotism manipulated to support wars and revile foreigners. There is a way to love this country and still be a citizen of the earth, without being a flag-waving warmonger. Let's find a way to celebrate that.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nina-burleigh/progressive-patriotism_b_24339.html
Posted by Judith at July 4, 2006 03:52 AMWe Hold THESE Truths To Be Self-Evident
Actor212 posted "We Hold THESE Truths To Be Self-Evident" above. From that same site is this statement. When our patriotism is questioned by the far-right, the question that we should ask is "what have you done to ensure equal rights for Americans?"
"Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote. Liberals created Social Security and lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. Liberals created Medicare. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act. What did Conservatives do? They opposed them on every one of those things – every one. So when you try to hurl that label at my feet, ‘Liberal,’ as if it were something to be ashamed of, something dirty, something to run away from, it won’t work, Senator, because I will pick up that label and I will wear it as a badge of honor." -- Matt Santos, The West Wing
Posted by Judith at July 4, 2006 05:15 AMPace said this morning that any rumors of his telling the pResident that he opposes nuking Iran is "pure fantasy."
Posted by Judith at July 4, 2006 05:22 AMOn the 4th, I always like to remind people, especially in today's political climate, about the difference between
Patriotism:
Love for or devotion to one's country
and
Nationalism:
Loyalty and devotion to a nation; especially: a sense of national consciousness exalting one nation above all others and placing primary emphasis on promotion of its culture and interests as opposed to those of other nations or supranational groups
Most of what the right is espousing as being Patriotic is actually blind Nationalism. "My country right or wrong" One of the key components of true patriotism that is lost on these nationalists is the idea of shared sacrifice. None of them are willing to pay higher taxes for this "war" (costing my family of 4 about $120/month) or send their kids to die for their cause.
It is under a Nationalistic attitude that has allowed this administration one of the largest pwer-grabs in the nation's history. This dangerous attitude threatens to destroy out republic as we know it.
Today, I celebrate my patriotism as I continue to fight for the country that I know and love.
happy 4th, everyone! i believe the republic is not beyond saving. that's as far as i go.
America, America, God mend thine every flaw
Preserve thy soul in self-control
thy liberty in law!
shit, it's "confirm" thy soul. google then post, benjoya!
Posted by benjoya at July 4, 2006 10:35 AMToday, I celebrate my patriotism as I continue to fight for the country that I know and love.
Well said, fellow patriot. My first Corona salutes you.
Posted by phidipides at July 4, 2006 11:14 AMWe hold these truths to be self-evident: Blacks make great slaves and women are too stupid to vote.
Just kidding the founding fathers on their big day.
Posted by TIKI AL at July 4, 2006 12:22 PMToday, I celebrate my patriotism as I continue to fight for the country that I know and love.
Hear! Hear! Read Glenn Greenwood's How Would a Patriot Act to understand what it means to be a patriot. Our Founding Fathers would be horrified at the actions of Bush and the radical right.
Posted by Mary at July 4, 2006 05:06 PMJudith,
I have followed your repeated references to that (past) thread.
You are not that bright. Leave it alone. Posted by Bagley
Hey Bagley, I'm bright enough to call you on it prick.
Posted by Judith at July 4, 2006 07:00 PMAnd you still hav'nt told me who the mother of McCain's black love-child is, or was that story just a low-life slimy GOP fictional cheapshot?
Posted by TIKI AL at July 4, 2006 09:46 PMTIKI AL, keep asking. It evidently drives Bagley crazy.
Posted by Judith at July 5, 2006 01:19 AM