Do You Still Feel Patriotic?

[Aunt Antifa]

As I watch 100’s of 1000’s of Americans die of a preventable disease, with a good portion of folks saying it just is what it is or mocking those who have died, those who are sick etc, I question if this country can recover its pride and spirit.

In example: why should anyone sign up for the military when we have stated that we can withstand 100’s of 1000’s dead? What is the argument for external defense but for the most severe crisis? Loss of life? Loss of business? If 100’s of 1000’s dead doesn’t move our needle, what should? What’s the rallying cry as a country if at base we don’t care about the lives both existentially and economically of our ciitizens?

The reaction to covid has made me rethink what I consider patriotism and what I don’t. I have never succumbed to the notion of right wing patriotism - just picture Trump dry humping a flag or any time a Republican stands on the corpses of American military dead to call someone else a name. But I did believe at heart we lived in a gigantic community, and that should the big alien invasion happen, we would all answer the call as a united people. Us against them!


The alien invasion happened. And at minimum 63m Americans that we know of sided with the invader against our own people.

 

[swing_voter]

Yes, very much so.

It's a good country and we are a good people.

 

[ALiberalModerate]

I am a patriot that cares about this country, it's land, it's people, and those that defend it, thus I am not a Trump supporter.

 

[Phys251]

As I watch 100’s of 1000’s of Americans die of a preventable disease, with a good portion of folks saying it just is what it is or mocking those who have died, those who are sick etc, I question if this country can recover its pride and spirit.

In example: why should anyone sign up for the military when we have stated that we can withstand 100’s of 1000’s dead? What is the argument for external defense but for the most severe crisis? Loss of life? Loss of business? If 100’s of 1000’s dead doesn’t move our needle, what should? What’s the rallying cry as a country if at base we don’t care about the lives both existentially and economically of our ciitizens?

The reaction to covid has made me rethink what I consider patriotism and what I don’t. I have never succumbed to the notion of right wing patriotism - just picture Trump dry humping a flag or any time a Republican stands on the corpses of American military dead to call someone else a name. But I did believe at heart we lived in a gigantic community, and that should the big alien invasion happen, we would all answer the call as a united people. Us against them!


The alien invasion happened. And at minimum 63m Americans that we know of sided with the invader against our own people.

I'm somewhere between your two poll options.

A real patriot is realistic about where we are. Being patriotic does not mean feeling good about your country but doing good for your country. All that in-your-face flag-waving and screaming about the supposed greatness of America? That's not patriotism. That's jingoism. Jingoism actively suppresses where we are and the major problems that exist here.

This nation has great potential. As recently as a decade ago, we were on a trajectory to finally reach that potential. But the reactionaries stepped in and over the course of a decade, sent us sliding backwards. A real patriot is willing to call that shit out and will be unmoved by the inevitable defensive, gaslighting responses.

At the same time, a patriot does not throw in the towel. Patriots often feel discouraged or that there is no way out, but they don't give up. Remember, patriotism is what you do, not what you feel.

So I'd say that when someone calls out our BS, shows us a better way forward, and leads us a step closer to it--That's patriotism. And I'm all for it. 🇺🇸

 

[lwf]

Patriotism to me is loving the things your country does right, and working to change the things your country does wrong. I am not proud of my country's response to the coronavirus pandemic, nor any of the other things that it continues to get wrong, but I am proud of all of the things my country does right. In spite of my tendency to concentrate on the wrong things, I know that the list of right things is much longer than the list of the wrongs.

 

[MrPeanut]

I have become less patriotic over time. I've always understood that our stated ideals are goals more than reality, but I think that somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of the country has completely different goals in mind. The handling of covid was probably the biggest factor in making me less patriotic. It's hard to be proud of a country that cares so little for its people.

 

[X Factor]

Being critical of certain aspects of the US doesn’t necessarily mean someone is unpatriotic but when someone is nothing but critical and condemning of the US in every respect, or if they want “fundamental transformation” or to “blow up the system,” it’s not a far reach to conclude they’re not for this country.

 

[Aunt Antifa]

Being critical of certain aspects of the US doesn’t necessarily mean someone is unpatriotic but when someone is nothing but critical and condemning of the US in every respect, or if they want “fundamental transformation” or to “blow up the system,” it’s not a far reach to conclude they’re not for this country.

It is a far reach. The status quo sucks. And it killed 200k Americans.

 

[Aunt Antifa]

Patriotism to me is loving the things your country does right, and working to change the things your country does wrong. I am not proud of my country's response to the coronavirus pandemic, nor any of the other things that it continues to get wrong, but I am proud of all of the things my country does right. In spite of my tendency to concentrate on the wrong things, I know that the list of right things is much longer than the list of the wrongs.

It’s not so much a list for me as “What are we fighting for?” I don’t care how many times I see the covid numbers, I can’t get used to them. I can’t get used to people wanting these numbers or not caring about them.

 

[rickc]

I am a true patriot. I believe in America and the principals she was founded on.

We have strayed quite a ways from them.

Greed, selfishness and bigotry seem to have taken control. We are no longer that shining light for all the world to emulate.

Time to return America to "we the people" instead of the plutocracy we have become.

Unfortunately right wing media has been able to redirect the blame for the results of 40 years of republican voodoo economics onto immigrants and minorities. A large segment of working class white Americans have bought this republican scam. I have no idea how we can re-educate these Americans.. they just want something to blame for their lost lifestyles..

My hope is a Biden presidency will begin the healing..

 

[Felis Leo]

Yes, I still love this country, its people, its institutions, every rock, every tree and every hedgerow. My feelings for it do not change based on the competency or venality of its leadership at the local, state or federal government levels.

 

[X Factor]

It is a far reach. The status quo sucks. And it killed 200k Americans.

Yeah, because it’s not like our lives have been completely changed the last few months

 

[Guyzilla]

Yes, very much so.

It's a good country and we are a good people.

HALF our people are good. Forty percent are sociopaths. WELL maybe 25 percent.

 

[Aunt Antifa]

Yeah, because it’s not like our lives have been completely changed the last few months

They weren’t. The poor got sick and are dying. The wealthy have access to testing and all the healthcare they need. Our status quo is just a slow motion version of this.

 

[Aunt Antifa]

Yes, I still love this country, its people, its institutions, every rock, every tree and every hedgerow. My feelings for it do not change based on the competency or venality of its leadership at the local, state or federal government levels.

Do you feel this was just a failure of leadership? Did we fail our own citizens, together? Did you ever think we would get to a place where 100’s of 1000’s Americans are dead and dying and we still aren’t really engaged about it. The media is on it 24/7, but are we?

I feel like the nation has mostly shrugged off these people.

 

[OpportunityCost]

They weren’t. The poor got sick and are dying. The wealthy have access to testing and all the healthcare they need. Our status quo is just a slow motion version of this.

Does your patriotism and care for others extend to essential workers? Because of the various things proposed, they have gotten the least from the country while doing the most to keep it running.

 

[Aunt Antifa]

Does your patriotism and care for others extend to essential workers? Because of the various things proposed, they have gotten the least from the country while doing the most to keep it running.

Of course it does. We have treated the poor working class the worst. We made them essential to our needs only, not theirs.

 

[X Factor]

They weren’t. The poor got sick and are dying. The wealthy have access to testing and all the healthcare they need. Our status quo is just a slow motion version of this.

Frankly, a lot of pro lock down folks lost a lot of credibility when they supported and encouraged mass protests.

 

[Felis Leo]

Do you feel this was just a failure of leadership? Did we fail our own citizens, together? Did you ever think we would get to a place where 100’s of 1000’s Americans are dead and dying and we still aren’t really engaged about it. The media is on it 24/7, but are we?

I feel like the nation has mostly shrugged off these people.

I think the leadership at all levels have failed them. First and foremost was Donald Trump failing to at least try to wrangle the state governments to form a unified response to the pandemic. This led to the state governors engaging in a patchwork of hasty ad hoc measures, some of which made the situations worse and ended up costing more lives (See: Governor Cuomo's nursing home fiasco followed by his abdication of responsibility). Combine this with the total gracelessness people show to each other as a result of political polarization, i.e., anger towards mandatory mask wearing on one hand, anger towards those who want to end the so called "non-essential" business shutdowns and restrictions on the other, and yes, it is safe to say that we have largely failed each other as well.

But my patriotism towards this country and its ideals and the care for my fellow Americans of all political stripes remains undimmed.

 

[Mr Person]

Unfortunately, I have to vote no. We've had high points, but saying we meet our ideals is denial in its purest form. We've undergone a slow improvement but we have quite a long ways to go. Three steps forward, two back. Three steps forward, two back. Three steps forward, four back. And so on.

All men created equal? lol. Slavery, women as property, segregation, ongoing racism, brutalty of government agents against citizens, wealthy individuals and wealthier corporate entities largely dictating legislation via lobbying and donation, on and on and on and on and on. We're far from any ideal we claim.

Justice? lol. Every last aspect of the criminal court system is stacked against people - especially the poor - that police accuse of comitting crimes.

Freedom? If you have a lot of money. Hell, AND you're white. Any number of rich black people have received the same old shit treatment from police.

Some of us try. We really do. But what we do is nowhere near what we pride ourselves on supposedly having done. Knowledge of that failure is papered over by relentless faux-patriotic chest thumping, as if the measure of patriotism is just how loudly you insist you are a patriot.




I'll bet the richer and whiter a poster (or the more uneducated, perversely), the more likely they are to vote that yes, we're meeting our ideals.

 

[Gaius46]

Yes I do. Please don’t confuse love of country with approval of the government and what it’s doing.

And don’t confuse criticism of government being non-patriotic. Criticizing the government when you disagree is a very patriotic act.

 

[Aunt Antifa]

Frankly, a lot of pro lock down folks lost a lot of credibility when they supported and encouraged mass protests.

How much credibility did the folks who voted for the guy who encouraged lockdowns to end too early retain?

 

[X Factor]

How much credibility did the folks who voted for the guy who encouraged lockdowns to end too early retain?

Haters were gonna hate regardless of what he did or didn’t do.

 

[post]

I am a patriot that cares about this country, it's land, it's people, and those that defend it, thus I am not a Trump supporter.

It is a far reach. The status quo sucks. And it killed 200k Americans.

I protested against Nixon's lies about war. I was laid off from my job while unelected President Ford was promoting buttons that displayed, "Whip inflation now"! I watched Reagan "out christian", Carter.

The zealotry and denial of the extreme right has been the key thing preventing the U.S from being other than a "shithole" country, for most.

Fast forward to 2020 :

https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/12/18/republic-if-you-can-keep-it-did-ben-franklin-really-say-impeachment-days-favorite-quote/

" autocracy, if they can seize it...."

Let this sink in, many of our countrymen, including an impressive number who participate here, rejected this,

....in favor of this, and will not hesitate to do it again!

And, confronted with this, who do many of the same extremists target, scapegoat? AOC and the bottom fifty percent...

The Fed - Distribution: Distribution of Household Wealth in the U.S. since 1989

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington DC.

www.federalreserve.gov

 

[Moi621]

Anyone with a better solution than
The United States of America
Please share.
Would you rather be French