Just to show that I'm just generally angry at everybody, let me slam into Byron Williams latest column, "What is Patriotism?" In it he makes some good points about the unthinking way Liberals are assumed to be less than patriotic. He attempts to strike a non-partisan tone, suggesting that loyalty to one party is not Patriotism, per se.
He then mucks his argument up with his concluding paragraph. "If indeed the Bush Administration exaggerated the evidence that led to war, as the facts seem to indicate, and Democrats, Republicans, and independents are unwilling to hold them accountable, we can rest assured that however one defines patriotism, its application will fit easily within the contours of any bumper sticker."
Basically this would indicate that unless we, as a nation, hold President Bush accountable for leading us into Iraq, patriotism is a joke. But of course he presupposes a verdict in the trial of the Bush Administration. His belief is that evidence shows President Bush's culpability. His statement is not akin to saying "Unless we release convict X who is clearly innocent, justice is a joke in America." That statement may be true, but only if the innocence of convict X is not in doubt.
By the same token, I have my opinion on the deceptions the Bush administration engaged in during the lead up to the Iraq war. But I am willing to admit that others who genuinely love their country might have looked at the evidence and come to the conclusion that the Bush Administration is innocent.
In other words, this article annoyed me because it argued a point I agree with (that Patriotism is not the sole province of Conservative Republicans or any other group) and then at the end harpooned it's own argument by setting a standard of patriotism that would exclude most Republicans.
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