I was reading today’s Springfield News-Leader when on the front page of the Voices section I see a picture of American flags and the word “SHAME” in big letters. Above the photo not seen at first is the opening of the title “There are times when patriots should admit…”
If you looked only at the surface of what Ms. Bargo is saying in her Voice of the Day column you would think that she is simply making a case defending herself of people accusing her of a lack of patriotism. However, if you truly look at what is written you will see that Ms. Bargo is instead passing judgment on those who do not march with her far left political views and putting herself in a place where she feels that she can define the meaning of patriotism on her terms.
If you just read her piece on the surface, you could find agreement on a number of points when she discusses that not being proud of the people elected to lead the country does not necessarily mean she is not proud to be an American and that it should not give anyone reason to call her patriotism into question. Again, on the surface, there’s nothing wrong with that statement as I know I’m not proud of many of our elected officials including President Bush.
Then if you take a second read of her piece, you realize that she’s really attempting to mock and belittle those who do not agree with her actions or words. She says that if you believe America is superior then you have a hatred of other countries and their cultures and therefore you are not a patriot. She says “blindly following your elected officials doesn’t make you a patriot.” I would agree…but when you take that statement with her closing statement “If you’re not ashamed of even some of our government’s decisions then you haven’t been paying attention and you’re no patriot” you realize she’s really saying unless you condemn President Bush and Republicans then you’re not a patriot.
That comes into clearer focus when you look at Mrs. Bargo’s personal political blog which is far-left and uses fringe left wing sources like moveon.org and Daily Kos as sources of information. This is a woman who dislikes conservatives and Republicans. That’s fine…it’s her right to be far left wing…but you cannot really tell this from her column because she doesn’t give you any indication what her true positions are on the issues. You can guess that’s she’s a liberal because she feels led to defend herself as not being unpatriotic but she never actually says that she is a member of the left.
After discovering her personal blog and it’s far-left ideals, her column takes an entirely different spin. For example, most folks would read “To feel ashamed and embarrassed by the president (sic) and members of Congress does not mean my patriotism should be called into question.” On the surface, you could agree with that…I know I’ve been embarrassed by things done by our recent Presidents and many members of Congress…but now I question whom she is really talking about in her column. Is she really talking about embarrassment by Congressional actions or just the actions of those with an “R” next to their name on the Congressional directory?
Some may say that shouldn’t matter but I would say if you’re blindly aligned with a political party then your patriotism could be called into question. No political party is right 100% of the time. NONE. So if you put the ideals of a party over the country itself then calling into question your patriotism is not out of the question. Pride in your political party does not make you a patriot. A party loyalist, sure…but not patriot.
Mrs. Bargo writes:
So I criticize our foreign policy. I criticize the way my tax dollars are being squandered and unaccounted for on various projects. I criticize the fact that the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. I criticize the areas where I believe capitalism has failed us. I criticize our “strength and courage” when I feel it is instead stubborn cowardice. Thomas Jefferson said, “What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?”
Do my criticisms mean that I hate America? Absolutely not!”
The problem is we cannot tell from what she posted whether or not she hates America. She speaks of generalities that many of all political stripes could agree upon…anger over unaccounted tax dollars or actions that give benefits to the very wealthy that should go to the poor…but she doesn’t actually say what HER positions are on those issues. That means we don’t know if her positions really ARE unpatriotic. For example, does she advocate cutting all war funding so that the troops in the field run out of supplies necessary for their protection just because you disagree with President Bush? I would question your patriotism in that case because you’re willing to further endanger our troops to make a political point. That person would likely say I’m calling them unpatriotic because they “don’t support the war”…and that would not really be the case but the fine line is hard to see when the train is rolling by at fifty miles an hour.
You can’t just say that someone who’s a critic is patriotic or not based on the fact they’re a critic. You base that on what their actual criticisms are and their positions on the country as a whole. If you’re someone who thinks that many other countries are significantly better than this country then it would not be out of line for someone to question your patriotism. Without knowing someone’s specific positions on the issues that effect patriotism then you cannot say one way or the other. Yes, some Republicans have done exactly that and they’re very wrong for accusing those critical of President Bush and Republicans of not being patriotic. That’s just absurd.
However, it is possible that some of those who are critical of the President and Republicans are unpatriotic in their intent. You cannot give a blanket pass to those critical of anyone not liberal and say that they’re automatically patriotic.
Of course, the question becomes…was Mrs. Bargo ashamed of anything that happened during the Bill Clinton administration or does her shame only come with the actions of the current Republican administration? If she cannot say she was ashamed of anything during the time the Democratic party was in charge then she condemns herself at the end of her column.
The way I view it…if you think America is the best country on the planet and regardless of who’s in the White House would stand beside someone with whom you disagree on every political issue to defend it then you’re a patriot in my book. If you think we should do all we can to keep our troops as prepared and safe as possible on the battlefield even if you despise the fact they’re there, you’re patriotic in my book.
Patriotism is not defined as blindly supporting any government…regardless of whether there’s a “D” or an “R” (or hopefully someday an “I”) next to the name of the guy in charge. Patriotism is not saying “to hell with the rest of the world” but it IS saying “this is the best country in the world even though we have problems.”
I’d love to see Sarah’s real views on some issues to see if some of the accusations apparently made against her for being unpatriotic have at least some basis. Hopefully, since she’s a member of the editorial advisory board of the News-Leader, we’ll see some more pieces where she goes into more depth about those views. I wish she would have shared them in this piece.
Perhaps one should look at how “patriotism” is defined, no matter which political position you come from. Those on the left have a staunch belief that they are correct, just as those on the right are convinced they are the keepers of all definitions and how it will be defined.
Personally it is my opinion that if you have done nothing to serve your country in the capacity of defense then you shouldn’t be the ones defining patriotism. I always find it amazing that it is normally those that have gone off to college or have not signed on in the defense of our nation that defines how the terms are used.
Many of the right wing talking pundits have never even set foot in a military uniform however they praise military members just as if they can relate to the sacrifices the people in the military have to do. Granted we do have a volunteer military, however I would be inclined to say the definitions would change if a 2 year commitment were required from every person capable living in this nation.
Defining the terms and words is where most people have disagreements, on the left if you don’t give of your paycheck willingly to those “less fortunate” you are considered a mean evil vile person that shouldn’t be allowed to breathe.
On the right if you don’t believe the “War on Terrorism” is about defending the United States you are some tin foil hat wearing lunatic that should move to Canada.
The party politic plays a HUGE role in this as well as it is OK for a democrat to have an affair but not a republican or vice versa. Democrats can write bad checks but that evil republican wrote some and he/she needs to be removed from office or vice versa.
In some manner I find certain things quite funny in how politics play a role. Take the impeachment of Bill Clinton to which perjury was the charge, however it was played up as a sex item. The loudest voice in congress on this was Newt Gingrich, however he then as he has done since has committed adultery on his wives with a younger better looking model while at the same time passing himself off as a very religious individual.
You will be judged by your own actions by an entity far superior then the man/woman on the radio, television, or your next door neighbor. Live by the creed that do onto others as you would have done upon you and defining patriotism should be the least of your worries.
Good points, Tom.