Ryan ChartrandMonths ago, when I heard there was going to be a writer’s strike, I, like many others, was concerned there would be a lack of senseless comedy this year. Little did I know I could always rely on politicians, elections and 24-hour cable-news networks. To their credit, they certainly picked up the torch and ran wild with it. I try to ignore a lot of it in the interest of staying sane, but some things just burrow too deep and too awkwardly into my mental cognition to stop bothering me.
One of these things is the persistence of those who say Barack Obama isn’t patriotic enough to be president. Thus far, I can only wrap my head around two possible explanations of why these people would obsess over this:
1. They believe that patriotism (standard unit of measure: one metric flag pin or ribbon-shaped car magnet) is directly proportional to presidential qualification; in other words, CAPTAIN AMERICA ’08.
2. They believe Barack Obama spent years as a community organizer in the slums of Southside Chicago, eight years in the Illinois State Senate, two years in the United States Senate, and nearly two years of what has to be one of the most grueling, stressful campaigns in American history, all as part of his grand scheme to become president and stick it to the country he (for reasons unknown) hates so much.
You can disregard the sarcasm if you’d like, but these “unpatriotic” claims, however lame and frivolous they may sound, are difficult to eradicate from the conversation completely. The lie doesn’t thrive off a single event that can be discredited, but instead is designed to be a combination of trifles constantly peppered at you to suggest something scandalous: a smoking gun that is simply not there.
Remember the discussion about Obama not wearing a flag pin on his lapel?
Remember the discussion about Michelle Obama saying (albeit in awkward terms) she felt a renewed pride in her country for ignoring stereotypical social divisions by being receptive to her husband’s unorthodox campaign?
Remember the discussion about those pictures of Obama clasping his hands near his waist instead of over his heart during the national anthem? (Never mind the fact that he has led the Pledge of Allegiance in the Senate multiple times.)
Remember the weeks of discussion about Obama’s controversial ex-pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and the comments he made that somehow through osmosis became Obama’s own radical views?
It’s always “discussions.” Instead of saying straight-up that Obama is unpatriotic, these peddlers simply ask questions like, “Do you believe Barack Obama presents the right amount of patriotism to be president?” or, even better, “Is Obama’s lack of patriotism something that will make you less likely to vote for him?”
Yet their strange magnetism to these questions, and clearly why they keep pounding them into our skulls, is that whether you feel strongly either way that he is or isn’t “patriotic,” you instead get so wrapped up in the question that it’s easy to forget the overwhelming truth and the overarching question:
What the f@#% is patriotism?
I’ll give you a hint: It’s not a flag pin on a lapel. It’s not a ribbon-shaped car magnet. It’s not where you touch your body during the national anthem.
Patriotism is a love for all your country is and all that it could be. It is only useful to the extent that it unifies our country; if it divides us to the point that we are fighting over who is more or less patriotic, then it is detrimental to the country we claim to love and is merely pretentious factionalism dressed up in red, white and blue.
Anyone who tells you otherwise, well, they must not be as patriotic as I am.
Jake McGowan is a political science sophomore and a Mustang Daily liberal columnist.