WEAPONIZING PATRIOTISM

Misanthropic Boomer

I can no longer sit silently while our faux patriots condemn any and all who dare to challenge the historical veracity of the American Flag, the National Anthem, or the position Christianity holds in the nation. As long as the government of the United States (we the people are responsible for whatever our government does) allows the veterans of whom the coach is speaking, to be homeless and live in cardboard boxes under freeway overpasses, to be less than adequately treated by the V.A., and to have the Congress of the United States continually vote against Veterans Affairs legislation, the coach's words ring hollow.

Not following the supposed etiquette of patriotism is hypocritical at the least, and kvetching about it to the entire world while allowing the double standards within the military to not merely exist, but to thrive is, in and of itself criminal. The most  excellent example of this pervasive attitude can be seen in how rape is handled within the services...it's not. The military has the highest incidence of unreported assaults of any profession. It is not a secret, yet again, we the people cannot be bothered,  so it continues, with the victim and the whistle blower being criminalized and the perpetrator getting transfer, thus avoiding all the ugliness attendant with the complaint.

To my knowledge the United States has not lost a single chair to a foreign entity since the end of the Second World War. Every engagement since WWII has been in defense of our corporations rather than our people. So exactly who is disrespecting whom? Salute the flag but allow it's defenders and their families to go hungry and be homeless; know the words to the National Anthem...first verse only...and ignore the racist sentiments in the second verse; promise to take care of the soldier in the field, yet provide sub-standard equipment and services (the civilian, no bid, contractors caused many deaths through inadequate water treatment, and electrocutions due to improper remote hookups and were paid handsomely during the Iraq war)...all of which is ignored. We also quickly forgot about our own government not providing protective armour, or enough ammunition to our troops. However, let one man speak up and he gets crucified...for telling the truth.

From my perspective a much greater disservice is performed every time our so-called patriots open their mouths in order to criticize what they do not understand...nor apparently care to rectify. It is, after all, much easier to point the finger and spew jingoisms than to actually try to fix real problems.

And, finally. a much bigger worry should be what will we do when the phony patriotism no longer works. What will we do when there really is a threat and we cannot raise an army (recruitment numbers continue to drop) because we worry more about the flag than the men and women who fight for it