God bless America. We’ve certainly heard this often, particularly since the atrocity on Sept. 11. It’s curious how otherwise non-religious or less than patriotic people suddenly discover their love of God and country when a crisis occurs. Are they truly patriotic or are they sheep waiting to follow any little fad that comes along?
My vote: sheep. Every other car is festooned with American flags like the cars of diplomats and heads of state. Lapel pins, t-shirts, baseball caps, and bumper stickers, all depicting the flag, have run amok all over the country. Most homes have some sort of American flag image in evidence.
The business community wasted no time jumping on the bandwagon. Not a shop-window can be seen not sporting a flag or slogan, proclaiming their patriotism (A particularly cynical exploitation of a tragic event and the genuine feelings of some Americans to make an extra dollar?). Witness the proliferation of flag memorabilia in every store. Patriotism has become a booming business.
This was in evidence no where more than at the annual Bakersfield Business Conference. There is usually a lot of flag waving at this event, but this year the air was particularly full of flags, literally and figuratively. Most people at the conference were sporting flags in some form. One woman had a red, white, and blue sequined vest. And of course, there was the main tent covered with the gigantic flag (an attractive target for America-hating terrorists) and filled with flag waving conference-goers.
Most of the speeches lacked the fire of previous years, as if to disagree is to be unpatriotic. A prime example of this is the lackluster debate between Bill O’Reilly and James Carville. These are two people with diametrically opposing views, yet they practically held hands and sang Kumbaya.
This “spirit of cooperation” is particularly in evidence in our politicians in Washington. Many opposition leaders, who had previously been in opposition to Bush and even questioned the legitimacy of his presidency, are suddenly his biggest fans. Bush has carte blanche to do pretty much as he likes.
Even Louis Farrakan, never a fan of the United States, is suddenly decrying terrorism and lauding the U.S. as a bastion of civilization. Countries, who consistently criticized the U.S., are now, at least verbally, supporting us. They too have rushed to join the ranks of our “fans”. I wonder where they have been so many times when we needed the support of all our citizens and that of other countries.
Speaking as a loyal, patriotic American, I hope this patriotism is genuine and lasting and not a passing fad like pet rocks or bell-bottomed pants. I also hope that it does not go too far and become an excuse for bigotry and suppression of honest dissent. Healthy debate and inclusiveness are cornerstones of our democracy. We should not allow ourselves to replace genuine patriotic actions with empty, trivialized, pseudo-patriotism.
Runner@csubak.edu