Smothered by The Flag
I pledge allegiance to a piece of fabric which represents arrogance, over-consumption, violence and an invisible man. Why?
Something that’s always bugged the shit out of me, ever since I started having my own thoughts, is this patriotic shit. When did patriotism all of a sudden become pledging your allegiance to a piece of fabric and for a republic for which it stands? Mind you of course that this is all taking place under a Judeo-Christian deity named God. Separation of church and state, my ass. But when did all this start? When did patriotism all of a sudden mean red-white-and-blue-and-I-love-Jesus-too? When did patriotism mean dedicating your efforts to the republic? What about the people themselves? What about the people living here who have no say whatsoever about what the rules are and who we have to listen to? Shouldn’t patriotism be more about the American people? It should, but the American people are too smothered by the flag to see above it.
Look at all this “Proud to be American” crap we see everywhere. You see it on bumper stickers and you see it with these flags waving in yards. Really? You’re proud? Aren’t you the same ones who think pride is the deadliest sin? What is there to be proud about anyway? Probably everyone who sees your flag and your bumper sticker is an American, too. Are you better than them? They are Americans, too. No one is impressed. You’re an American? Wow! So am I! What did you do to receive this honor? The truth is you were born here, just like I was. We didn’t do jack shit to become Americans. We didn’t pass a written test, we didn’t have to fight our way across a border, and we didn’t have to perform a series of difficult tasks. We didn’t achieve anything. We have nothing to be proud of.
We can be happy to be American, but not proud. This American pride idea is meaningless and arrogant. Happiness is something different. There are a lot worse places to be where kids have to live in their own shit and die from starvation every day. Lucky for us, we’re the ones consuming most of the planet’s resources, getting fatter and fatter every time we drive our gas-operated vehicles to the store for a deep-fried Twinkie. Be happy you have the right and privilege to eat until you’re fat, obtain diabetes and problematic heart conditions from it, and then complain about health care. Be as happy as you want, but don’t be proud. That’s nothing to be proud about.
In order to be involved with the community, I was at a highschool football game recently, to watch a coach belittle kids for flaws in their athletic ability. This is the same guy who had earlier told me the elliptical machine looked like too much work. Before the game, the school choir sang our warlike song about rockets and bombs. During the song, some young children playing – GASP! – didn’t immediately halt their imaginations and energy to stand still for the flag. When scolded, one of them looked to the sky and said, “Sorry, Jesus – and America!” So, where does it all start? It starts from childhood. Please, responsible adults. Raise your kids. Don’t smother them with the flag.
Liked it
User Comments
outlaw76
On September 6, 2009 at 9:55 pm
I agree with some of the things you point out.
They live meaningless lives in persuit of the next hot new gadget or the latest fashion trends, and not for one minute do they realize the world they are so wrapped up in is a fiction. It’s artificial and not sustainable….will a building be standing in 100 years let alone 10,000? Will laws be the same in 100 years? Will you be the same in 100 years? Of course not! Oh and by the way these morons don’t even realize that the horizontal striped flag they all buy at hardware and dollar stores for their yards and cars are made in China and represent a Corporation.
yes, the United States is a corporation…. just my two sense..
Benyamin Solomon
On September 14, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Wow, this just goes to show how much leftists hate this great nation America. People feel pride about their countries. That’s true for America as well. The problem is that you leftists hate America.
You claim that we use the most resources and make everyone else poor. That is a slanderous leftist claim. You portray Americans s uneducated people who just eat fast food. You leftists must be happy that Obama was elected, since he is a Socialist radical who is the antithesis of America’s greatness.
Vincent Catalano
On September 18, 2009 at 9:41 pm
I take offense, not at your argument, Benyamin, but at the term “leftist” and I believe you owe me an apology. I simply a have my own ideas and haven’t bought into the idea that if I question what goes on in my country, I am anti-American. I do not “hate” America. I am merely disappointed in it and believe we can do much, much better. Thomas Jefferson suggested we have a revolution every generation or so. If that’s the case, then we have a lot of catching up to do. Obama has some great ideas to improve upon America’s greatness, and I hope to see them through.
P.S. We do in fact use most of the world’s resources and contribute greatly to not only making others poor, but also ourselves.
Benyamin Solomon
On October 28, 2009 at 8:29 pm
Vincent, first off, I don’t think criticizing America makes you hate it. No country is perfect. Even before Obama was President, I was critical of some policies of American Administrations. For example, I think it was a mistake of George W. Bush to cuddle up with the Holocaust-denying Palestinian terrorist leader Mahmoud Abbas [though Obama is taking it to another level] and I am critical of America not standing up to Saudi Arabia because we are too dependent on oil. However, if you look at the overall picture, America has brought freedom and democracy to the world. America has liberated Europe from the Nazis, then liberated eastern Europe from Communist tyranny and is now fighting a war on radical Islamic terrorism. This article doesn’t simply just criticize American policy [some of which should be criticized]. This article attacks Americans who take pride in their nation. That is anti-American. This anti-American article also makes slanderous accusations against America and verbally attacks the American people, as well as verbally attacking the American flag. America does not use most of the world\’s resources. That is a leftist anti-American claim. Also, Obama’s “great ideas” is to have more government control, more government waste and will even dramatically increase the deficit [instead of cutting it in half, as Obama promised to do]. Obama’s “great ideas” is also to apologize to America and to appease America’s totalitarian enemies at the expense of its allies and the pro-democracy freedom fighters. Honduras is a case example. When it comes to Israel, he is unpopular there because of his bullying obsession over the settlements and any construction in them. I love how at least many leftists dress their anti-Americanism as legitimate criticism of America and then say that those who oppose Obama are un-American [something they wine about when they\'re called that]. Under Bush, we were told that dissident was patriotic over and over. Now, at least many leftists act like dissident means that you’re racist, un-American, like the Nazis and/or like the KKK. The American people are waking up to Obama’s “great ideas” i.e. his radical agenda. Remember Obama attempted to hire the radical black Supremacist Communist Van Jones [who thinks that white environmentalists and polluters conspire to pollute the neighborhoods of colored people]. Yet he was exposed. And now we have Anita Dunn as the WH Communications Director who has the Communist butcher Mao as one of her favorite philosophers. Face the facts instead of believing that leftist propaganda.
Post Comment