We don’t need no stinkin’ lecture on Patriotism from the likes of Obama

Obama gave a speech lecture on Patriotism yesterday.  (Link to full text of speech can be found at bottom of this post.)

My first thought was “Why do you have to lecture Americans on Patriotism?”. 

Well, if you are a left-winger who doesn’t take pride in the foundations and cultures of this country, you have to redefine the meaning of Patriotism so the sheeple will understand your view of things.

It’s kind of like a philandering husband redefining his love for his wife (to her) this way:

Honey, don’t judge me …I don’t judge you…and, by the way, those other women don’t mean anything.  They are just a means for me to realize how much I really love YOU.  And my wedding ring, honey….I don’t wear it because it is just a symbol and symbols don’t prove love.  I am committed to you, I just show it in a different way.  After all, EVERYONE thinks this way now.

Both attempts (by Obama and the philandering husband) ring hollow for those who really know the definitions of Patriotism and Love.   The clear point is the attempt by the lecturer at redefining the MEANING of words in order to make HIMSELF feel good and justify what it is HE wants and feel….and your country and your wife be damned.

There is really not much difference between the husband-wife analogy and Obama’s need to lecture the country about Patriotism.  A candidate for president shouldn’t even feel the need to try and define HIS WAY of looking at Patriotism. 

Just like the Constitiution, Patriotism is not a living, breathing definition….at least not when it comes to loving this country we call the United States of America.

Sure, while I suppose there are small and different ways to express Patriotism, when I really think about Patriotism in this country I have to go back to the founding, early Patriots, and literally the fact that we are the greatest country on earth, probably in history.  (Now, I’m sure that last proclamation doesn’t set well with the Patriotism-redefining crowd)!

Liberals will offer all kinds of things they define as (new) Patriotic — dissent (as long as it falls along their line of belief), flag-burning, not wearing lapel pins, defacing military property, spitting on soldiers, socialist strategies for healthcare and taxation, “progressing” our customs and laws into something the founders would not recognize (Think gay marriage, abortion, and no prayer in schools, for starters).  This list could get very long.

Bottom line – Patriotism is a respect and love for the country based on its greatness, the wisdom of its founders, the courage of its Patriots past and present.  That love and respect is shown in symbols (think flag, military parades, patriotic songs), in speech (not nuance), and in sacrifice.

Think about it — what the Founders of this country produced is astounding.  And it has worked for 232 years now.  Our country is worthy of respect and praise.  And those who sacrifice to keep us that way should be revered. 

There is a difference between respecting the traditions, symbols, and founding of this great country where Patriotism is concerned and the effort by many to transform this country and the defintion of Patriotism into something it was never meant to be.

Examples:

• Obama and Dems always talk about helping the needy and that it is a Patriotic Duty for the “government” to do so.  I say helping the needy is a value of this country, but it is neither patriotic nor the government’s duty to take from others to accomplish it.
• Radical lefties try their best to define Patriotism as being anti-war.  (I am sure that one would baffle the founders).  I say it is OK to not agree with any particular war, but it is not only NOT Patriotic, but naive, to actively pursue a path and believe that America’s greatness will be sustained with surrender and “love-ins”.
• Obama and others say “I won’t question your Patriotism”, but they say this as they redefine Patriotism which, in essence, really does question MY Patriotism, now doesn’t it?  I say I will darn well question anyone’s Patrtiotism who befriends (and takes political money from) domestic terrorists; one who sees the flag as expendable,;and one with Congressional responsiblity to vote and then doesn’t even show up to vote and condemn those who attack our military leaders in the midst of war. (Obama is guilty of all of those things, by the way)
• The libs view of supporting those who sacrifice for this country is in their empty words.  I say real support of our troops includes not bashing our military publicly while they are at war or not (think Murtha), it means not lying about and hating their Commander-In-Chief publicly and aggressively (think most Dem leaders), it means not meeting with and appeasing our enemies (think Pelosi and Assad or Jimmy Carter and a number of world-leader thugs).  Those actions are not dissent; they are undermining to our country, our military and our President at a time of war, no less.

Excerpts and comments on the lecture:

…..it is worth considering the meaning of patriotism because the question of who is – or is not – a patriot all too often poisons our political debates, in ways that divide us rather than bringing us together. I have come to know this from my own experience on the campaign trail.

This is in reference to America-loving, Military-respecting Americans who KNOW it is unpatriotic to withhold funds from warriors in the midst of battle and that it is unpatriotic to condemn and accuse our military falsely.  This is the first attempt to neutralize anyone who will call a Democrat out on their unpatriotic ways.  His assumptions here about “bringing us together” smacks of “think like me and we’ll all get along.”

Throughout my life, I have always taken my deep and abiding love for this country as a given. It was how I was raised; it is what propelled me into public service; it is why I am running for President.

I guess that “Deep and Abiding Love” doesn’t translate into the anti-American friends you keep…. namely William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, Jeremiah Wright, Louis Farrakhan, your wife who is not proud of her country.   In addition, I am not sure being raised part time in Indonesia with an atheist mother, the influences of a Muslim father and stepfather, attending an African-Centric church for 20 years, and denouncing parts of your heritage are what I call a background for “deep and abiding love of this country”.

And yet, at certain times over the last sixteen months, I have found, for the first time, my patriotism challenged – at times as a result of my own carelessness, more often as a result of the desire by some to score political points and raise fears about who I am and what I stand for.

You are darn right, Obama….about challenging your Patriotism.  For many of us Americans, your words fall empty against the backdrop of your far-left and anti-American beliefs.  Not to mention the fact that you have surrounded yourself with others who hate what this country stands for.  Is it any wonder you felt like this is the first time anyone questioned your Patriotism?  I don’t think Wright, Dohrn, Ayers, Rezko, Michelle, and others were going to question it. 

As far as political points….I don’t think I have heard McCain or other Republican political leaders say a word about Obama’s Patriotism.

While parts of Obama’s speech are not incorrect in the context of history, and I could even agree with him on some points, I still believe primarily he has a need to redefine Patriotism in his own image.   He strives to make the philosophy of his party appear as Patriotic.

But surely we can agree that no party or political philosophy has a monopoly on patriotism. And surely we can arrive at a definition of patriotism that, however rough and imperfect, captures the best of America’s common spirit.

Perhaps there is no monopoly on it, but I believe that majority of truely Patriotic people fall on the Right side of the aisle.   Until the Democrats can neuter Code Pink, George Soros and others in their party; and until they can get off of the Socialist, Big-Government band wagon, I will say they are the least Patriotic of political philosophies in this country!

While I question the sincerity and certainly the accuracy as he portrays his childhood, I don’t entirely disagree with his definition of how many Americans (about 35 and older) grew up seeing America:

What would such a definition look like? For me, as for most Americans, patriotism starts as a gut instinct, a loyalty and love for country rooted in my earliest memories. I’m not just talking about the recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance or the Thanksgiving pageants at school or the fireworks on the Fourth of July, as wonderful as those things may be. Rather, I’m referring to the way the American ideal wove its way throughout the lessons my family taught me as a child.

One of my earliest memories is of sitting on my grandfather’s shoulders and watching the astronauts come to shore in Hawaii. I remember the cheers and small flags that people waved, and my grandfather explaining how we Americans could do anything we set our minds to do. That’s my idea of America.

I remember listening to my grandmother telling stories about her work on a bomber assembly-line during World War II. I remember my grandfather handing me his dog-tags from his time in Patton’s Army, and understanding that his defense of this country marked one of his greatest sources of pride. That’s my idea of America.

I remember, when living for four years in Indonesia as a child, listening to my mother reading me the first lines of the Declaration of Independence – “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” I remember her explaining how this declaration applied to every American, black and white and brown alike; how those words, and words of the United States Constitution, protected us from the injustices that we witnessed other people suffering during those years abroad. That’s my idea of America.

 But Obama goes off the reservation later in the speech with these little gems:

We may hope that our leaders and our government stand up for our ideals, and there are many times in our history when that’s occurred. But when our laws, our leaders or our government are out of alignment with our ideals, then the dissent of ordinary Americans may prove to be one of the truest expression of patriotism.

What he means to say is….when Republicans are in office or a war is going on then “dissent” loudly and obnoxiously is appropriate….even if it means undermining a sitting President or military leader in the process….now that’s Patriotism 101 for the Left.

Recognizing a wrong being committed in this country’s name; insisting that we deliver on the promise of our Constitution – these are the acts of patriots, men and women who are defending that which is best in America. And we should never forget that – especially when we disagree with them; especially when they make us uncomfortable with their words.

In other words, again, if Republicans are in power or someone disagrees with the Left’s view of a “living, breathing” Constitution, you are a patriot to undermine that person, attack them, and lie about them if need be.   And if Obama’s words or some other Dems words make you uncomfortable, remember, they are just being Patriotic.

For those who have fought under the flag of this nation – for the young veterans I meet when I visit Walter Reed; for those like John McCain who have endured physical torment in service to our country – no further proof of such sacrifice is necessary. And let me also add that no one should ever devalue that service, especially for the sake of a political campaign, and that goes for supporters on both sides.

We must always express our profound gratitude for the service of our men and women in uniform.

Is that why Obama’s attack dogs on the left like Wesley Clark can attack John McCain’s service?  It is quite coincidental that Obama says these words on the very day that Clark’s comments set off a firestorm.  Planned to make Obama look above it all or just a coincidence?  We’ll let voters decide.

For the rest of us – for those of us not in uniform or without loved ones in the military – the call to sacrifice for the country’s greater good remains an imperative of citizenship. Sadly, in recent years, in the midst of war on two fronts, this call to service never came. After 9/11, we were asked to shop. The wealthiest among us saw their tax obligations decline, even as the costs of war continued to mount. Rather than work together to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and thereby lessen our vulnerability to a volatile region, our energy policy remained unchanged, and our oil dependence only grew.

In spite of this absence of leadership from Washington, I have seen a new generation of Americans begin to take up the call.

Here he flows right in to attacking a President who has kept this country from another attack for 7 years….while fighting off a rabid assault from the left to surrender a war we are now winning.  Not only that he has the gall to bring up the oil problems, when his party has the majority in Congress and are sitting on their hands doing nothing…. 

Obama then ends his speech touting all of his socialized ideas in the name of National Service and Patriotism……in other words his policies are Patriotic and the “last great HOPE” for this country…..sort of makes his whole idea of “Patriotism shouldn’t divide” kind of moot.

Read it for yourself…Full Text of Obama’s America We Love Speech