wow, has it been a month? i'll confess, i've been lazy. L-A-Z-Y. but now i think i'll sit down and get something off my chest (36C, if you must know).
flyover country needs to stop acting like they're the real americans, and everybody else is just a poser. i'm sick and tired of some asshat waving a poster of obama in a turban acting like he's standing up for america. if conservatives and the regions they dominate want to be relevant to the 21st century, it would certainly help if they joined it.
why do these fuckers think they're more patriotic? because they display flags, recite "under god" in the pledge, and put their hands on their hearts when they sing the national anthem. seriously. and they stick yellow ribbon magnets on the backs of their suv's. it's about being white, christian, male or subservient to males, and straight. meanwhile, red states all over the country literally feed off of blue states' federal income taxes. cities hold about 20% of americans; cities are usually the hosts of protest rallies, not rural areas. while rural, small-town america has been holding onto their illusions about what an american is, the rest of the country has moved on. while small-town america held on to patriotism being how many songs you can sing, pledges you can recite, and flags you can fly, the rest of us realized something.
patriotism is when you care enough about your fellow americans to make a fucking sacrifice for them. patriotism is when you care enough about your fellow americans to help them in bad times. patriotism is when you put off a cellphone upgrade so the kids in your country can have school lunches. patriotism is when you tell your government when it's wrong, and you hold your ground. patriotism is when you say "so what if he is a muslim? this is america." patriotism is when you pay for a highway project. it's when you pay back your student loans. it's when you observe elections and help people use their right to vote.
fuck these outward symbols that small-town america clings to. the flag is not a woobie. osama bin laden could put the flag on his cave entrance, stick a yellow ribbon on his machine gun, and sing "god bless america" till he's blue in the face, doesn't mean he loves america. it's window-dressing.
you see, for conservative, small-town america, window-dressing patriotism is all they've got left. they hate paying taxes, hate public schools, hate courts (or judges), hate equal protection, hate government in general. the only segment of government they seem to like is the idea of the military (since they hate paying the taxes the military and vets need, i think this is accurate). flags and songs and magnets are all they have left. they hate the institutions that we share, and which urban americans have come to value as we diversify and densify.
our institutions keep the peace; they are open to us all, and help us hold together. in an age when it's just not feasible (or constitutional) to force social cohesion through conformity in religion, language, sexuality and lifestyle, these institutions are vital. it's vital that we have schools everyone is entitled to send their kids to, and which any adult can get involved in. it's vital that we have parks, where people can come together to relax and people watch. it's vital that we have transit affordable to all that links metropolitan areas together. it's vital that we take pride in our firefighters, paramedics, police officers, and teachers. patriotism is when you support these things, not just with lip service but with money and effort. when you pay taxes, you put your money where your patriotic mouth is. something that small-town america calls "socialism". if it's socialist to actually support your country instead of just saying you do, then call me comrade.
