Contest of Patriotism [Body Poltic, Community]
Today is the day proceeding Election Day and there is no time where patriotic sentiment runs higher. A competition arises between presidential candidates as to their national pride. And a great argument is engendered among citizens as to what vote will most benefit the country.
Senator John McCain’s nationalist slogan “Country First” implies invidiously that Senator Barack Obama won’t put the country first–as if Obama’s proposed “Change” will be a strike against the country. Obama claims otherwise, that his “Change” will strengthen the country.
But I’m rather put off by all the pageantry and this contest for Mr. Patriarch of America. I’m tired of listening to these unctuous politicians and their meretricious monologues about “this great country.” How can any man look out earnestly upon this society and be proud?
How could you overlook the fact that over 2.25 million Americans are incarcerated (2006)? How could you overlook the fact that 63% percent of American children do not grow up with both biological parents How could you not realize what this statistic indicates about the of our countries social health? How could you miss the fact that 9.5% U.S. adults–that’s about 18.8 million people, suffer from a depressive illness , where millions and millions more self-medicate themselves with illicit drugs or alcohol? How could you dismiss the fact that over 32,000 Americans commit suicide in a single year , even where many suicides go unreported due the stigma our culture attaches to it?
Is this what you would call the pursuit of happiness? Are these just the consequences of living in such a “great country?”
When politicians speak of this “great country,” they are speaking of an illusion. They will speak of the skyscraper, and the automobile, and all the great material advancements of this country, but none of them will honestly recognize the fact, that this country is a social disaster. They laud the ingenuity of businesses like Google and the praise hard-working entrepreneurs like “Joe the Plumber,” but they continue to ignore the ills that strike at the heart of the nation.
The truly patriotic man, will recognize these debilitating ills, he will have compassion for everyman, and he will strike the illusion from his platform. If I ever vote for another president, it will be for that man.
Tags: government, patriotism, politics, presidential election 2008
