Gimme some American Spirit
There is exactly one item of patriotic American baloney that I buy into, willingly and even gleefully. I'm not a Republican, military overspending really pisses me off, I think the war is retarded and so are the major people behind it, I do not feel proud when I see the U.S. flag, I have almost succeeded in forcing myself to forget the Pledge of Allegiance and Oh Beautiful For Spacious Skies, and I make a point of keeping on hat-type accessories whenever the national anthem gets played.
But I love the Blue Angels. Man those planes are awesome. They serve no practical transportative purpose, all they do is spend tons of taxpayer money traveling the country doing propaganda work, using tons of fossil fuels in the process, snarling traffic and interrupting everyone's busy important lives. But I don't care. I totally love them.
It's Fleet Week here in the Bay Area... :)
But I love the Blue Angels. Man those planes are awesome. They serve no practical transportative purpose, all they do is spend tons of taxpayer money traveling the country doing propaganda work, using tons of fossil fuels in the process, snarling traffic and interrupting everyone's busy important lives. But I don't care. I totally love them.
It's Fleet Week here in the Bay Area... :)
Labels: enjoy the blog, random
posted by Courtenay at 10/04/2007
10 Comments:
Wow, I had no idea you felt that way.
minor clarification here: i feel that the troops are in no way to blame, and i value their lives and their efforts to do what is right. it's a complex issue, for me and for many. i come from many generations of naval officers, was raised in a pro-military home, etc., grew up in a time of powerful cold war propaganda, but now i am not so sure about the things that seemed so certain to me as a child.
if i'd had the opportunity yesterday, i would have been out there at SFO holding a protest sign with the other demonstrators, yet i would have been totally stoked to get a close-up view of the planes and i probably would have taken photos. hypocritical, i know, but like i said i feel it's a complex systemic, NOT individual, issue.
C - I know this might open up a bunch of ridicule, but I am a Republican, though pretty moderate. I agree with your comments about supporting the troops - they didn't ask for the assignment, they just have to do it. However, I think that our flag stands for more than just our governing officials - it stands for the entire country and the last time I checked, a lot of the country disagrees with our elected officials - all of them. I still pledge my allegiance to the flag, because it's my country and I wouldn't want to live anywhere else in this world. It's not perfect, but it's up to us as citizens to elect people who represent our views. The Democrats/Green/Independent/etc folks in Congress all (OK, maybe not all, but something like 90%) voted to start the war - they need to all line up and put an end to it. All it takes is a simple majority...
Long story short, don't give up on the U.S. - we're not all jerks like our elected officials. OK, that's it for preaching today.
I'm not exactly for the war either--that's not the part of your post that bothers me. I just think that the American flag actually has a lot of meaning behind it.
Anyway, the blue angels are very cool :) The Thunderbirds performed at my graduation and it was awesome.
Symbols are "real" in that what they stand for (to individuals and groups) changes with the zeitgeist...i think having a hot and cold relationship with our flag and all of those symbols is perfectly normal and healthy. In fact, I think it reflects the type of patriotism (self reflective, critically minded, etc.) this over entertained, "faithful", society sorely needs. :-)
I would challenge every American to actually live, work, learn and grow in another country before he/she said they wouldn't want to live elsewhere. Part of the American problem is this blind faith in "best" (history books and the media do well with this) without ever seeing for themselves the scoop on the "rest".
America is a cool place for sure and I'm glad my parents had a one night stand in LA, saw me through birth, raised me to health and thus making me a citizen BUT the world is big ol'place with MANY a healthy, free, happy, and thriving country to be a part of.
Point-Symbols are powerful because they are dynamic thus the relationship we forge with them should reflect such.
Rock on C!
:-)
Peace from Seoul, Korea!
Court,
we've chatted about the post and I support you. As a former Blue Angel, I'll try to get you some VIP tickets.
Mark
"Pro-Ho"
Big Blue Angels fans here in Maine!
As for the rest--growing up in Canada and the US I do agree with achilles. But let me tell you--everyone wants to come to the US for one reason or another. I loved showing my US passport to my high school, budding atrist, give anything to get to NYC friends. "WOW! I bet you can get a green card fast with that!" HAHAHA
We read the Declaration outloud every 4th--with booh's, and Hiss' for KG and Huzzah's for the rebellion--I'm glad they jumped off into the great experiment!
Yeah politics is hard--glad we're pluralistic and it's not a crime to be a registered Dem,Repub, Green, or Communist. I myself am a conservative--not fitting well with either major party sinve I want to conserve the planet, families, childhood, and individual freedoms! What's a crunchy-con to do?
I LOVE crunchy-con! Wicked fresh!
Is that new or am I way out of it???
A bit out of it. Rod Dreher has a book and a blog by that title. I myself am in the "hip homeschooling Mama" genre of crunchy-con.
thanks everyone for all the thoughtful comments and insights!
c
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