i’ll tell you where to stick your flag pin
you’d think that the right-wingers would eventually tire of their MRAO (Manufactured Reasons for Apoplectic Outrage), but no. the latest thing causing paroxysms of rage around the wingnutosphere is the fact that barack obama doesn’t wear a flag pin on his lapel. dear god! the sky is falling! he doesn’t love his country! he’s not a patriot! ARE YOU? (here’s a refresher course on where this faux hysteria has taken us before.)
of course bill maher addressed this oh-so-perfectly back in october when this little piece of bullshit “news” first appeared. the transcript of the rant from his “real time” program is available here, but these two excerpts sum it up nicely:
Show me a man wearing an American flag pin in his lapel, and I’ll show you an asshole. I’m sure there are exceptions, but in general people need to remember that lapels aren’t for wearing pins to create the illusion that you’re supporting the troops. They’re for wearing ribbons to create the illusion that you’re helping cure a disease....
When I see the little flag right here, the first thing I think is, you voted for, and still like, George Bush, the man who has gotten more troops unnecessarily killed and maimed by failing to plan for their mission, by pushing their units to the breaking point, by letting his corporate enablers like Halliburton, Bechtel and Blackwater rape and pillage not just the Iraqis, but our own army.
better yet, obama himself appears ready to swat these annoying gnats in real time, responding thusly to these utterly ridiculous attempts to impugn his patriotism:
As far as the American flag pin, I mean, when we start getting into those definitions of patriotism, that’s a debate I am happy to have, because what I will come right back to them is: a party that resided over a war which our troops did not get the body armor they needed or were sending troops over who were untrained because of poor planning or not fulfilling the veterans benefits that these troops need when they come home or undermining our constitution with warrantless wiretaps that are unnecessary. That is a debate I am very happy to have.
after reading william “the bloody” kristol’s insipid column* in yesterday’s new york times, i had to write my own letter to the editor. herewith, for your enjoyment:
To the Editor:To answer William Kristol’s question (“It’s All About Him”, Feb 25): yes. Barack Obama is the one for whom we’ve been waiting.Most of us are disgusted with flag-pin-wearing, “Support the Troops”-magnet-bearing faux patriots who pay lip service to duty, honor and country without actually embodying the tenets those words and symbols represent. The Obama movement is an uprising of people who yearn for a truly representative democracy. We seek to rid this country of the politics of lies, fear and cronyism.
Pundits will continue to crow disingenuously about what Obama represents. The truth is far simpler: America doesn’t need to be told what to do by people who have been proven deadly wrong time and time again. For naked wannabe emperors like Kristol and Bush – whose entire careers can be attributed to nepotism – the fact that it won’t be “about them” any longer must be frightening indeed.
Sincerely,
*registration required
