Thursday, April 26, 2007

Patriotism

What makes one a patriot? Is it respecting the “office” of the President? Is it honoring the troops? Is it saluting the flag? Putting a yellow ribbon on your car? Buying a Toby Keith album? Following men in turbans around airports?

I would suggest that patriotism comes from respecting the ideals upon which this country was founded. Honoring or even revering the document our Founding Fathers threw together in an unprecedented moment of wisdom - the Constitution of the United States. And contained in the Constitution is a tacit respect for the rule of law. It is here where I put forward my main thesis - Bush is not a patriot. Not only do Bush and his cronies have no respect for the rule of law, they hold the very ideals of this country in great contempt. You do not become a patriotic American by worshipping Jesus and making lots of money. It is born from a profound respect for what made this country great - freedom of expression and from tyranny, belief in the rule of law, adherence to the ideals of a republican democracy, inherent in which is a system of checks and balances and three equal branches of government. You either believe in those things, or you are, dare I say it, unAmerican. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that unAmerican is necessarily a bad thing. I’m just saying that the things I named are the fundamental principles upon which this country is founded and if you don’t believe in them, you don’t love this country. Love another one, it’s all the same to me.

It really doesn’t need saying at this point because it is now plain for all to see that Bush and his cronies do not respect our Founding Fathers, our Constitution, and last but not least, the people of this great land. But it’s just that this week and the last few weeks, they can’t even pretend to hide their contempt for those things. Today it comes up because Condi Rice says that she’ll be quite happy to answer questions the House of Representatives might have for her in a letter. Kids, for your edification, a letter is one of those things that your grandma sends on your birthday in a paper envelope. You know, with like a stamp on the front and it takes a week to get there? That’s right, Condi thinks that subpoenas are like so totally beneath her:

Rice said she respected the oversight function of the legislative branch, but maintained she had already testified in person and under oath about claims that Iraq had sought uranium from Africa during her confirmation hearing for the job of secretary of state.

"I addressed these questions, almost the same questions, during my confirmation hearing," she said. "This is an issue that has been answered and answered and answered."
I guess I’ll say that to the judge next time I get one of those in the mail. In fact, I’m sitting on a jury duty notice right now. Perhaps I’ll just tell them I’ll send them a letter with my verdict.

The most blatant example, of course, was last week when Alberto Gonzales went before the Senate and lied and lied and lied to them, metaphorically holding his nose from the stench of having to be so close to the loathsome and despicable subhuman creatures who populate the disgusting underbelly of the United States government, also known as the U.S. Senate. The most contemptuous of all of that foul display of thinking and exploring was King George himself who heaped praise on his BFF, saying that he’s more impressed with Gonzales than ever. “How can that be?” you ask. Easy. Bush doesn’t respect book-lernin’, competence, ability to do a job, expertise, wisdom, or even honesty. He made that painfully - and fatally - clear during Hurricane Katrina and countless other tragedies worldwide. No, the only thing that impresses Bush is the ability to cover up his crimes and misdemeanors. Nothing gives Bush a bigger hard-on than the words “I can’t recall” spoken by one of his most trusted insiders.

Bush hates this country. He hates the Founding Fathers. He hates the Constitution. He hates the people you sent to congress to represent you, and most of all, he hates you. He loves his friends, and he loves making his friends money. Period. I’m reminded of a lyric from the brilliant new Nine Inch Nails album, (seriously, go buy it):
I'm sick of hearing ‘bout the haves and have nots
Have some personal accountability.
The biggest problem with the way that we've been doing things is
The more we let you have the less that I'll be keeping for me.
What will come of us now? How much farther can this go?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mr. Grant, patriots are those that contribute to the security of this nation. Their contributions impact the lives of the general public. I hope you enjoy the constructive efforts attempted by others and find it in your heart to support them or become one of them.

lifeintheG said...

Thanks for pointing that out, Anonymous. I agree with you. And for that matter, I believe that in my small way, I (and many more eloquent, more popular others) do contribute to the security of the nation by pointing out how poorly the current administration has in fact, provided for our security. Can anybody point out a single thing that the Bush Administration has done to keep us safer? Can anybody point out any policy initiative that hasn’t made us less safe? Anybody?

Yeah, me neither.