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Anonym fragte: Are you patriotic?

hello, anon.

the answer to that question really depends on one’s definition of the word patriotic.

many people define patriotism as blind, unconditional obedience to one’s country, and supporting that country and its government no matter what.

by this definition, no. i am not patriotic in the least. 

my birth in the united states was nothing more than an accident, as is my current state of consciousness. both of these things are deeply intertwined, but neither of them is purposeful. 

additionally, i have many problems with how things are in the us today. 

• i do not support the state of israel and its continued genocide of the palestinian people
• i do not support 53% of government revenue being used for “defense” purposes
• i do not support denying rights to women, people of color, and the lgbt* community.
• i do not support corporatism in politics
• i do not support the obscenely close-minded two-party political system that has codified itself into this nation’s consciousness
• i do not support interference in global affairs, especially to the extent of armed excursions into other nations, which amounts to thinly-disguised colonialism.

i’m positive that there are other things about this nation that irk, bother, or even infuriate me. 

however, if one defines patriotism as an idealistic loyalty to the place that one’s nation could be at its best, then yes, i am. if one defines patriotism as willing to take matters into your own hands and take a stand against the traditional injustices which abound in one’s birthplace, in order to create a better situation for every citizen and resident of that nation, then yes, i am patriotic.

the united states of america has always been an experiment in democracy. our example has inspired millions. blind patriotism is believing that the experiment was a success and that we have been and continue to be the greatest nation on the planet. true patriotism, however, is the acknowledgment that we have in many areas totally failed to be a great, or even good, place to live—but also the willingness to continue the experiment, to try and make it a success.

to answer your question, i propose another question: what does it mean to be patriotic?

i’ve been thinking about some of the things my crazy grandparents said regarding the political situation of the united states.

• first thing is, we can discount this bullshit about how “america getting away from god and truth” is what caused our problems. america was never a christian nation and deists did not and do not believe, acknowledge, or worship the christian god.
• also, muslim communists are not taking over the country. that is patently false.

but, my grandfather has some points which i think are worth addressing. by sifting out the fox news-fueled-paranoia, the religion, and the racism, i think i’ve gleaned what amount to his main tenets.

1. he wants people to be self-sufficient. the other side of this is that he DOESN’T want his hard work and/or taxes to benefit quote-unquote “freeloaders.”
2. he thinks that generosity (things like federal student aid and welfare) are the reason for the economic problems we face today, rather than greedy people taking advantage of that generosity and abusing the system.
3. he believes small businesses can’t hire new employees and create jobs because regulations and taxes are too high/numerous.

i think that’s basically it. i have some refutations for some of these points, but other parts are things we simply disagree on, and neither of us know enough about it to convince the other. my points:

1. self-sufficiency is a wonderful virtue, but it is absolutely impossible for EVERYONE to be self-sufficient under our current system. the unmitigated and unchecked greed of the superrich is what has drained the prosperity from this nation, along with political cronyism and hyper-risky stock market practices. with the way things work in america right now, it’s ludicrous to pretend that everyone has an equal shot at the pot. they don’t. corporate profits (and top-level salaries) are higher than ever, but unemployment is the highest it’s been since the great depression, and the wages of the working classes have risen lower than the rate of inflation for the past forty years. this sort of leads into:
2. generosity and compassion are virtues, and some of the highest ones we humans can aspire too. greed, however, especially the epic-level greed which has made a tiny fraction of the population insanely, stupidly wealthy at the expense of the rest of us is the problem. i’ve seen a certain quotation many times on tumblr that reads (more or less), “when someone collects fancy santas [or whatever] we call them weird, and potentially crazy. but when someone pathologically hoards money, we call them a role model.” i’m not sure of the source, but it makes a valid point. money-hoarders are the true leeches on society and the economy, not welfare recipients. and the money-hoarders are the ones who have consistently taken advantage of society’s silent generosity—that is, we didn’t realize how much we were being taken for, so we were alright with it. yes, there are welfare recipients who abuse the system, but this argument that we should thus eliminate the welfare system is steeped in racism, classism, and many falsehoods about the nature of poverty and those who live in it.
3. maybe he’s right here, to an extent. but the issue isn’t that simple. many small businesses can’t hire new employees because the economy as a whole has tanked, due to the insane and harmful practices of the past decade, NOT simply because there are too many regulations and/or too much tax. the issue is much more complicated, especially factoring in a) record high corporate profits, but $0.00 paid in corporate taxes and b) the entirely lax nature of corporate regulation (prime example: the risky drilling practices by bp, and the housing bubble). so if small businesses have too-heavy regulations and taxes holding them back, let’s shift those suckers to multinational corporations, to simultaneously free up small businesses (but NOT at the expense of others) while generating LOTS of tax revenue and ensuring that the corporate profit-machines don’t ruin the world.

i wish i was fast on my feet and also not dependent on my grandparents’ generosity. 

i voted today.

i voted for barack obama. (also yes that is my hat. i like it a lot.)

why? well, he’s the candidate whose views are most in line with mine, which is not to say that i agree with him on everything. as a staunch atheist and progressive, it’s more or less impossible for me to find someone with whom i agree completely, as that person would not even bother running for office.

as i was making dinner earlier, my mother asked me for whom i had voted, and i told her.

her response was less than encouraging, as i knew it would be. 

“whaaat?” she asked, incredulous.

“who did you vote for?” i asked her in return.

“gingrich.”

ah, i thought to myself. gingrich.

“you realize he’s an awful human being, right?” i asked her. i detailed his marital history (married three times, asked first two wives for open relationships while they were in the hospital with cancer and multiple sclerosis, respectively).

“that doesn’t have to do anything with politics,” she replied.

oh? it doesn’t? your candidate and his compatriots seem to have no problem dragging obama’s personal life into the campaign, not to mention the whole racism thing. i guess we’re playing the double-standard game here. 

“i wouldn’t want a man like that running my country,” i said.

“it’s not like you know anything about obama either,” she accused.

haha. right.

“actually, i do,” i said. “obama-“

“no,” she interrupted. “we’re not having this discussion. you’re too hard-headed and you never listen to anything anyone says.”

fuck that. 

one: just because i’m hard-headed doesn’t mean i’m wrong. your presumptory accusation shows your major prejudice regarding my age. just because you’re my parent doesn’t mean you’re always right. if i’m wrong and stubborn, i’m a hard-headed twenty-something with no world experience. 

but if i’m right? then i’m commended for sticking to my guns, as it were, by any witnesses to the argument. and as it happens, I AM RIGHT. i am also far more politically informed than you have ever been, as i am jacked the fuck into the american political discourse every fucking day.

“i’m perfectly willing to listen to what you have to say as long as you’re willing to listen to me too,” i offered. does it get more civil? i don’t fucking think so.

“well, i’m not,” she said.

ah. 

point two: you’re too smart to be completely hornswoggled by these conservative assholes. these people do not give a shit about you. you are a middle-class single mother of two and you have difficulty paying your bills. you obey the law and play by the rules, but you can’t seem to get ahead. guess where your tax money is going? 

oil subsidies. illicit wars. congressional salaries that dwarf anything you might think of. breaks and loopholes for the richest of the rich. guess who wants all those things to continue sucking away at your livelihood? conservatives. guess who is doing his damnedest to get YOU a break. 

that’s right. obama is. he is the only candidate on the entire field who gives any kind of fuck about the middle class and the poor.

and i think you, dear mother, have an uneasy, sinking feeling in your gut that i will be able to convince you of all this the moment you enter into a discussion with me. i’m an exponentially better debater, i have far more information at my immediate disposal, and i’m passionate about all of this.

your unwillingness to talk with my like two adults having a conversation is simply a refusal to enter into rational debate because you don’t think i’m informed enough due to my age, and you’re worried, deep down, that i’m right.

and that’s fine. i’ll do what’s best for you even if you don’t acknowledge that act for what it is— just like the president often does.

an open letter to rick santorum

so i just saw this post by the daily what and i felt compelled to comment on one particular little gem from our good friend sir frothalot.

Later, on Meet The Press, Santorum doubled down on his position, telling host David Gregory that the separation of church and state was “not the founders’ vision.”

please take a second to read that quotation thoroughly.

that’s right. he said that.

not. the founders’. vision.

well fuck you, rick santorum, and fuck everyone who thinks you have any idea what you’re doing, or that you’d make a good president.

newsflash, asshole: THE MOTHERFUCKING FIRST AMENDMENT. LET ME SET IT HERE FOR YOU TO SEE.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

there it is. right. fucking. there.

firstly, this says congress, not the president—and considering you’ve been going on and on about how you would do things, i think it’s time you know: the president is not all powerful. 

’s funny, ‘cause your lot have been criticizing president obama for not doing enough. don’t you think that if he could, he’d be fulfilling all his promises? but guess what! the majority of congress is republican. and they have done their utmost to stop everything he’s tried to do.

so i don’t know exactly what you’re thinking, but you could not get elected and immediately declare the united states to be a theocracy. that just ain’t how it works.

secondly, there’s the founders’ vision for you. right there. they wrote it down. specifically. so that jerkoffs like you wouldn’t try and turn this nation into a theocracy 200 years later. 

your argument, sir, is invalid.

and you, sir, are an idiot of the worst kind. 

kindly go back into your closet with your sinful homosexual thoughts and leave the rest of us alone.

you know what would be great? like, really really great?

if all the fuckheads in washington (and around the entire nation) cooperated for the next four years or so and did some or all of the following in the united states:

• build high speed interstate/intercity rail system (this would be super great)
• end corporate lobbying and change policies so that votes go to those with the best arguments and not those with the most money
• end corporate nontaxation, driving up revenue and making the deficit smaller
• create and enforce education standards with their basis in reality and give creater control of the curriculum to teachers
• check insanely inflated university tuition and rampant student loan debt

those are some good things i can think of right now…and not too unrealistic, i hope? reblog if you have anything to add.

a simple flowchart.

begin: conservative politicians and media spout falsehoods, half-truths, and deeply misleading, out-of-context information.

option one: they honestly believe they are correct.

end: they are stupid and not worth the attention.

option two: they know themselves to be incorrect.

end: they are liars and not worth the attention.

comment: funny how that works.