I am guilty of being overly patriotic, if that is even something that on can be found guilty of. I get goose bumps when I hear the "Star-Spangled Banner" before a ball game and want to stand up even if I am in my own living room. I get teary eyed when I hear Al Greenwood sing "Proud to be an American" or someone give a patriotic speech like the one below.
I do not know why I feel the way I do when so many others do not. I did not grow up in a home that was overly patriotic; my redneck, white trash step father cared only for himself. My father’s side of the family is patriotic, but I was not raised by them. At a young age I was drawn to the American Flag, I sang the National Anthem with pride in grade school, and meant it with all my heart when I recited the Pledge of Allegiance.
I joined the military to defend my country and give my life if necessary.
I was the only one in my basic training class who raised his hand when the question was asked, "Who joined to serve their country?". All the others raised their hands when they were asked if they joined for college or because they had no other options.
I have been an unrepenting patriotic sap for as long as I can remember and I hope to instill that in my children. All Americans owe everything they have today to the Founding Fathers and the men and women who have given their bodies to defend our way of life. I say that they gave their bodies because some came home, some lost limbs, and others gave their lives, but all gave themselves to a higher cause than themselves.
Showing posts with label patriotism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label patriotism. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Thursday, October 22, 2009
I am Healed
Did not spend much time in the car today so I was not subjected to liberalism. Instead I have been flipping through news channels to see how the different cable news organizations present similar stories. Ironically, MSNBC does not come in with a clear signal and I can not hear over the static. I say ironically since I would not be surprised if San Fran is MSNBC's largest market. So it is on to CNN and Foxnews.
No big difference to see today other than the Foxnews' war with the White House.
Can my dirty liberal readers explain why the White House would pick this fight?
Seriously, if Bush had been this sensitive and attacked everyone who hated him on TV he would never have been able to take those vacations. I guess when your only serious threat is "The Daily Show" you don't worry about it. The pot smokers don't vote anyway.
But taking on Fox News whose viewer ship has increased since the election just seems like picking a fight with a gorilla. They have succeeded in causing the other news organizations, White House supporters, to defend Fox and back up the 1st amendment.
I find it hard to believe that this administration can think it is so loved by the other media outlets that they thought they would turn on fellow journalists.
We all know that Fox News leans right, but it has to be recognized that MSNBC leans left and CNN, leaning the least still, leans to the left.
The White House dislikes the editorials specifically Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity. They use the editorials as an example of the stations lack of news. Well what is on the other channels at the same time? CNN and MSNBC both run editorials.
How can the sheep be led if they have no one to follow? How can the lazy have talking points if they are not given to them by the so called pundits?
While I do not like far left liberals, I still think they have every right to speak. That is so long as I have every right to not listen.
I do like to listen to Glenn Beck. I do not listen or watch him religiously, but he is entertaining and the things he brings up are interesting though lately they are very conspiracy theorist.
But what if he is right? What if all of the Presidents advisers are communist? Isn't that something you would want to know? Don't you want to know the ones who are self proclaimed communists?
No matter who is talking, whether it be some guy on TV or your very own father, all information presented to you should be independently verified. With the invention of the Internet the ability to look things up from multiple sources is easy. Remember that Wikipedia is not guaranteed to be factual, but often people site their sources so you can use Wikipedia to find multiple sources often covering both sides of an argument.
It is every American's responsibility to be educated and to maintain this countries constitution. This can not be done if you are ignorant and simply follow the loudest voice.
No big difference to see today other than the Foxnews' war with the White House.
Can my dirty liberal readers explain why the White House would pick this fight?
Seriously, if Bush had been this sensitive and attacked everyone who hated him on TV he would never have been able to take those vacations. I guess when your only serious threat is "The Daily Show" you don't worry about it. The pot smokers don't vote anyway.
But taking on Fox News whose viewer ship has increased since the election just seems like picking a fight with a gorilla. They have succeeded in causing the other news organizations, White House supporters, to defend Fox and back up the 1st amendment.
I find it hard to believe that this administration can think it is so loved by the other media outlets that they thought they would turn on fellow journalists.
We all know that Fox News leans right, but it has to be recognized that MSNBC leans left and CNN, leaning the least still, leans to the left.
The White House dislikes the editorials specifically Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity. They use the editorials as an example of the stations lack of news. Well what is on the other channels at the same time? CNN and MSNBC both run editorials.
How can the sheep be led if they have no one to follow? How can the lazy have talking points if they are not given to them by the so called pundits?
While I do not like far left liberals, I still think they have every right to speak. That is so long as I have every right to not listen.
I do like to listen to Glenn Beck. I do not listen or watch him religiously, but he is entertaining and the things he brings up are interesting though lately they are very conspiracy theorist.
But what if he is right? What if all of the Presidents advisers are communist? Isn't that something you would want to know? Don't you want to know the ones who are self proclaimed communists?
No matter who is talking, whether it be some guy on TV or your very own father, all information presented to you should be independently verified. With the invention of the Internet the ability to look things up from multiple sources is easy. Remember that Wikipedia is not guaranteed to be factual, but often people site their sources so you can use Wikipedia to find multiple sources often covering both sides of an argument.
It is every American's responsibility to be educated and to maintain this countries constitution. This can not be done if you are ignorant and simply follow the loudest voice.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Protesters vs. Revolutionaries
Protesters vs. Revolutionaries
Protesters:
I have no problem with protesters no matter what side they are. I may have called Code Pink a bunch of idiots but I never had a problem with them protesting. Oh, I just thought of one I do have a problem with. The only time I have a problem with protesting is when those idiots protest Military Funerals. Hell, protesting ANY funeral is just horrible and is not freedom of speech it is just being assholes.
Protesting is an American Right and I encourage it.
Revolutionaries:
The big hubbub right now is about the man who wore a gun on his thigh to a protest and had a sign that said “Its time to water the tree of liberty”. This guy had balls. WOW
The gun alone is not an issue of mine as it is our right to carry one. I don’t think I would have open carried to an event the POTUS was going to be at, but maybe that makes this guy a better man then me.
The sign was out of line. In my opinion it was a threat. I have run it through my head over and over again. I can not see it as anything other than a threat. Matched with the gun, I am not surprised people are upset.
Now this guy supposedly is from Arizona and belongs to a so called “right wing extremist group”. According to the news the website calls for a return to the values of the US Constitution.
THERE ARE NUTS AND EXTREMISTS ON BOTH SIDES.
A Question I have been thinking about:
What is the difference between a revolutionary and an insurgent?
• Nothing according to the thesaurus, they are synonyms.
• Is it all dependent on whether the revolution was successful? I think so.
When does one know when it is time to rise up?
At what point did the Founding Fathers know enough was enough?
What is wrong with going back to the basics of the Constitution isn’t that what the so called right wing extremists are asking for?
Is revolution only capable by the right?
• How can the left stand up and revolt when the right has the majority of the guns?
• I guess that the belief that the left are a bunch of wimps went out the window when they started fighting at the town hall meetings.
Protesters:
I have no problem with protesters no matter what side they are. I may have called Code Pink a bunch of idiots but I never had a problem with them protesting. Oh, I just thought of one I do have a problem with. The only time I have a problem with protesting is when those idiots protest Military Funerals. Hell, protesting ANY funeral is just horrible and is not freedom of speech it is just being assholes.
Protesting is an American Right and I encourage it.
Revolutionaries:
The big hubbub right now is about the man who wore a gun on his thigh to a protest and had a sign that said “Its time to water the tree of liberty”. This guy had balls. WOW
The gun alone is not an issue of mine as it is our right to carry one. I don’t think I would have open carried to an event the POTUS was going to be at, but maybe that makes this guy a better man then me.
The sign was out of line. In my opinion it was a threat. I have run it through my head over and over again. I can not see it as anything other than a threat. Matched with the gun, I am not surprised people are upset.
Now this guy supposedly is from Arizona and belongs to a so called “right wing extremist group”. According to the news the website calls for a return to the values of the US Constitution.
THERE ARE NUTS AND EXTREMISTS ON BOTH SIDES.
A Question I have been thinking about:
What is the difference between a revolutionary and an insurgent?
• Nothing according to the thesaurus, they are synonyms.
• Is it all dependent on whether the revolution was successful? I think so.
When does one know when it is time to rise up?
At what point did the Founding Fathers know enough was enough?
What is wrong with going back to the basics of the Constitution isn’t that what the so called right wing extremists are asking for?
Is revolution only capable by the right?
• How can the left stand up and revolt when the right has the majority of the guns?
• I guess that the belief that the left are a bunch of wimps went out the window when they started fighting at the town hall meetings.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Independence Day
Yesterday was the Independence Day, the 4th of July. As far as I can remember it is the first time I have been out of the country on Independence Day, though I may have been in Kuwait for one in 1997 but I can not remember when I was actually there. I know it was hot and all the animals either wanted to kill you or them selves. But I digress.
What I really want to talk about is personal Patriotism.
The patriotism we should all embrace. I joined the military out of patriotism. Sadly, when my drill instructor asked my basic training flight why we joined, I was the only one who raised his hand to the question, “who joined to serve their country” The rest raised their hands for “to pay for college” and for “had no other options but to work at McDonalds”. That truly saddened me to think that out of 50 or more people, I was the only one who wanted to serve my country and not doing it out of necessity. I have not lost my patriotic drive and can accurately be accused of loving my country blindly. I used to think the good old US of A was perfect and anyone who said differently was an idiot.
I have changed a lot over the years since 9/11. I have been driven to understand why the US is so hated and have learned that there are some good reasons people might hate America. We get involved everywhere and sometimes meddle where we shouldn’t. We do things half assed sometimes and leave people hanging, i.e. Vietnam, Iraq 1991, Afghanistan in the 80/90s just to name a few. In Vietnam we went to war half assed after the French had already lost a war there. In Iraq we called for the Shiites to stand up against Saddam and we would have their back, but we didn’t. In Afghanistan we supported them against the Russian and when they won, we turned off all support which allowed for Osama and the Taliban to take over. It is important to know that Osama and the Taliban were not in control of government after the communists were kicked out; Ahmad Shah Massoud led his soldiers into Kabul first. We were too focused on the collapse of Russia to realize that leaving this fledgling country to its infighting would leave us with 9/11 and other attacks.
These are just a few examples of America’s mistakes and we can list a whole lot more if we wanted too. For all of America’s mistakes, we still do a lot more good then we do bad. The gist of it is that America is the big dog, the Super Power, the boss. No one likes the boss, but he is the one you turn to when the shit hits the fan and you need help. He is also the one who gets blamed when things go wrong. America gets blamed for interfering in one country and blamed for not interfering in another. Somalia is touted by some as an example of American imperialism in Africa and in the same breath America is blamed for the deaths in Darfur for not intervening. You just can not win. All we, as Americans, can do is hope that our good deeds are truly good and not expect to be rewarded for them. We also need to recognize when our attempts at good fall short.
Our forefathers built this country with the belief that all men are created equal. In their time, that did not include women or men of color. Over time that has changed, all Americans are created equal and free. We should strive to maintain those truths. The world likes to point out that America was built on the destruction of Indians and on the backs of Africans. Those comments are undeniable though the severities of each are arguable. History shows us that no country or society is free of misdeeds, but it is the learning from those misdeeds and striving for a freer more tolerant society that should be our goal.
I love my country and would gladly lay down my life fighting for what it stands for. This should not make me a rarity but just another American amongst 300 million other Americans who feel the same way. You do not have to like everything about your country, just like a family you may not agree with everyone in it, but you stick by family through think and thin. I hope our day of Independence brought you to reflect on why you live in America and if it didn’t then I ask you to ponder why you stay in America or why it would be better to live somewhere else.
If you have lasted this long and finished reading this meandering hodge podge of a post, I ask you to leave a comment on why you are or are not a patriot.
What I really want to talk about is personal Patriotism.
The patriotism we should all embrace. I joined the military out of patriotism. Sadly, when my drill instructor asked my basic training flight why we joined, I was the only one who raised his hand to the question, “who joined to serve their country” The rest raised their hands for “to pay for college” and for “had no other options but to work at McDonalds”. That truly saddened me to think that out of 50 or more people, I was the only one who wanted to serve my country and not doing it out of necessity. I have not lost my patriotic drive and can accurately be accused of loving my country blindly. I used to think the good old US of A was perfect and anyone who said differently was an idiot.
I have changed a lot over the years since 9/11. I have been driven to understand why the US is so hated and have learned that there are some good reasons people might hate America. We get involved everywhere and sometimes meddle where we shouldn’t. We do things half assed sometimes and leave people hanging, i.e. Vietnam, Iraq 1991, Afghanistan in the 80/90s just to name a few. In Vietnam we went to war half assed after the French had already lost a war there. In Iraq we called for the Shiites to stand up against Saddam and we would have their back, but we didn’t. In Afghanistan we supported them against the Russian and when they won, we turned off all support which allowed for Osama and the Taliban to take over. It is important to know that Osama and the Taliban were not in control of government after the communists were kicked out; Ahmad Shah Massoud led his soldiers into Kabul first. We were too focused on the collapse of Russia to realize that leaving this fledgling country to its infighting would leave us with 9/11 and other attacks.
These are just a few examples of America’s mistakes and we can list a whole lot more if we wanted too. For all of America’s mistakes, we still do a lot more good then we do bad. The gist of it is that America is the big dog, the Super Power, the boss. No one likes the boss, but he is the one you turn to when the shit hits the fan and you need help. He is also the one who gets blamed when things go wrong. America gets blamed for interfering in one country and blamed for not interfering in another. Somalia is touted by some as an example of American imperialism in Africa and in the same breath America is blamed for the deaths in Darfur for not intervening. You just can not win. All we, as Americans, can do is hope that our good deeds are truly good and not expect to be rewarded for them. We also need to recognize when our attempts at good fall short.
Our forefathers built this country with the belief that all men are created equal. In their time, that did not include women or men of color. Over time that has changed, all Americans are created equal and free. We should strive to maintain those truths. The world likes to point out that America was built on the destruction of Indians and on the backs of Africans. Those comments are undeniable though the severities of each are arguable. History shows us that no country or society is free of misdeeds, but it is the learning from those misdeeds and striving for a freer more tolerant society that should be our goal.
I love my country and would gladly lay down my life fighting for what it stands for. This should not make me a rarity but just another American amongst 300 million other Americans who feel the same way. You do not have to like everything about your country, just like a family you may not agree with everyone in it, but you stick by family through think and thin. I hope our day of Independence brought you to reflect on why you live in America and if it didn’t then I ask you to ponder why you stay in America or why it would be better to live somewhere else.
If you have lasted this long and finished reading this meandering hodge podge of a post, I ask you to leave a comment on why you are or are not a patriot.
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