Is Michelle Obama Unpatriotic or is Cindy McCain the Unpatriotic One?
The reason that I bring this up is because of Michelle Obama's recent remarks that have caused conservatives to throw their arms up and call her unpatriotic. If you missed it, the New York Times quotes her as saying "For the first time in my adult lifetime I am really proud of my country. And not because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change." Of course, the McCain campaign has taken a hold of it. The New York Times article also bring up what Cindy McCain said in response to Michelle Obama, stating "I'm proud of my country. I don't know about you -- if you heard those words earlier -- I'm very proud of my country."
And of course, the ever-patriotic Fox News jumped into the fray with the headline "Does Michelle Obama Dislike America?" criticizing her for her statement and says that an explanation. Of course, the conservative side of the political isle is ablaze with anger. As a USA Today article points out, many conservatives are upset calling the comment "strikingly ungracious" and "only occasionally good."
This entire thing reminds me of the post 9-11 days when if you even dared criticize the President or any of his actions you were labeled 'unpatriotic' or 'un-American' which I found insulting. As Theodore Roosevelt, a former President stated, "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." We as a people must criticize our government when we feel it is doing something wrong, in fact, it is unpatriotic to not do so. If you love your country, you have a duty to criticize it. James Baldwin sums it up perfectly when he states, "I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually."
It is time we stop blindly loving America and begin to criticize it for its wrongs, which recently have been plenty. According to Wikipedia, Michelle Obama is 44 years old (and I just found out has the same birthday as me!) and would be considered an 'adult' at the age 18 which would be in 1982. So, let's look at some of the events that have happened since she has been an 'adult.' Well, there was the Reagan Presidency which witnessed the Iran-Contra affair, massive record deficit spending and the election of George H.W. Bush in 1988. That presidency saw even greater deficit spending and the continuation of policies from Reagan such as the destruction of environmental laws. The Clinton years, while probably better for democrats, still saw various policies come under fire, the rise of the Social conservatives as a major force in politics and the sweeping out of the Democrats in Congress led by Newt Gingrich. Oh yeah, then there was Lewinsky to top it all off.
The Bush years have been an unmitigated disaster if you consider yourself to be liberal. The botched invasion of Iraq, the wasteful spending, the massive record deficits just years after there was a surplus, the appointment of various cronies to high level positions, etc. Not only that, but looking at race relations in America, while they have gotten better, this is the first time we have had an African-American as a major candidate for office. There have been some good things over the past 26 years, including the fall of communism, the 1990's economic boom and the ousting of Saddam Hussein. However, when we look at the big picture, for the most part, I can see why she hasn't been all that excited about America.
This is not a bad thing. It is okay for someone to say that there are times when my country has disappointed me, but I still love it. In fact, I love it so much, I am going to criticize it so I can improve it. If we are going to just sit there and watch our country go down the crap, then that is unpatriotic. For the conservatives to try and attack Obama in the name of 'patriotism' reeks of b.s. If you truly love your country, you have a duty to criticize it. I for one wish people would stand up to those who are attacking her and say they are being unpatriotic for blindly supporting policies that are destroying our country. I am proud of America right now for having excitement in politics again. This is the first time in my adult life that I have seen such excitement, especially with younger people, in regards to politics. I was not around in 1960 when JFK was elected, but in talking with people and in the articles that I have read, it is that type of excitement that we are seeing once again.
Let's stop saying someone is unpatriotic for criticizing their country and realize that they love their country so much that they want to fix it. If your child is doing drugs, you don't stay quiet because you love them. If you are staying quiet then you clearly don't love them because they are harming themselves. The same is true for our country. If you truly love your country, then you want to fix what is wrong with it. The election of Barack Obama would be a good first step in fixing those problems.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary "Patriotism"; Merriam-Webster.com
Michael Cooper, "Comments Bring Wives Into Fray in Wisconsin"; New York Times
Bill O'Reilly, "Does Michelle Obama Dislike America?"; Fox News
Jill Lawrence, "Michelle Obama's comments under fire"; USA Today
Jone Johnson Lewis, "Patriotism Quotes"; Wisdomquotes.com
Wikipedia, "Michelle Obama"; Wikipedia.com
Published by Travis Dahle
I am a teacher and debate coach in Sioux Falls, SD. I am interested in Sports, Politics, World & National News, Music, and Economics. I do research every year on several topics for debate and love debating... View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentM. Obama is Black. What she probably learned, by experience, in Princeton is that almost all of the power in America is White... and that probably changed her perspective on America and her own family history considerably. Now, most non-Black Americans start to think that the facts of history, on examination, would cause Black people to be angry, feel rejected, and hate America. Surprisingly, though, relatively few feel this way, and I'm certain that Michelle O. doesn't feel this way. She may sometimes feel disappointed and frustrated at the slow pace of progress, but she basically believes we can get on, and stay on the right track, and get to where we need to be, even if it's years away. Someone who has real anger would have ditched Barack years ago, and argued that he's out of touch with reality and a waste of time. In fact, the public support for Obama is evidence that we are on the right track... but we're not there, yet.
I am so glad someone has finally said this. I love my family with all of my heart, and I criticize them if I think they are wrong, but, for some reason I'm not supposed to criticize the President. Someone who hasn't raised me or loved me all of my life, but for some reason, he's too good to be criticized. I don't think so. Nothing is perfect...Including America. It's ok to say that. America is a great country...but we are not perfect.
Ah, but a good fascist doesn't criticize the nation or the party, don't ya know! And "blowyard" you are dead wrong that at least half the country doesn't agree...the neo-cons have never had a majority vote or majority views...they are just good sheep and show up to vote as they are told. And finally the silent ones are beginning ro realize how much they have to lose if they let "conservatives" continue in power...
So what is wrong with being proud to see the way people have been registering to vote and voting in record numbers? I must say my heart swells with pride to see so many USA citizens who are color blind and have the ability to judge a man based on his voting records and leadership ability. It also disheartens me to see so many females (do not expect much from men) vote to help Hillary in her blind quest for power and to break her ultimate glass ceiling. Shows how cold and callused they are~not giving a darn for the dead children in Iraq due to our bombs, hey, hey, hey, as long as we get a gal in office with a shady past and a lying womanizing man for First Man in the White House. I do not care for McCain and might as well look for another country to live if the choice is between known corruption and anti-female leaders, both who want to invade Iran when we can not pay for Iraq.
Very interesting article. M. Obama would be a very interesting first lady. She is outpoken and intelligent.
I get really irritated when people use name calling such as "Lefty" What does that even mean? You also make the assumption that I am not trying to change it and working to fixing it. I do realize that half of the population will disagree with me on a lot of issues, but I just get annoyed when the Patriotism Card gets played constantly by the conservatives because some people point out areas that need improvement. What is this old common sense you talk about? It sounds like you are making huge assumptions about someone just because they disagree with you. Elevate the debate, I'm saying stop saying someone is unpatriotic for disagreeing with you and instead, debate about how they would fix it and if their ideas of change are good or not. Also, I would argue that there is nothing wrong with America, just the people running it (democrats and republicans).
And as I see, you are a Lefty, so your objections are par for the course. If ya'll spent half as much time working on fixing the problems you perceive instead of the non-stop litany of complaints (remember, at least one half of America thinks you are wrong and disagrees with you) many of the problems would go away. But that's just a Conservatives' common sense point of view. No wishing and hoping, just good old plain common sense.
"It is time we stop blindly loving America and begin to criticize it for its wrongs, which recently have been plenty." Travis, what do you think the Left has been doing for the last 8 years, non-stop, without relief or break in their never ending assaults about all that is wrong with America? It's about time the never-ending complainers shut up and actually work to improve that which they find problematic. Until they put their money where their mouths are, I am not listening anymore. It takes no guts to observe and complain. Not one damn bit!