I am in utter shock... My last diary was on the stupid, phony outrage in the media. Today, I found out the despicable thing that Barack Obama has done... He stopped wearing his American flag pin, or lapel pin, or whatever the heck you wan to call it! Oh the nerve... Oh, the horror!
Last night, on Hannity & Colmes, Kate Obenshain said that the absence of Obama's lapel is really hurting the morale of the troops. My feelings were crushed when I saw that Barack stopped wearing his American flag lapel. How could we vote for a man, like Obama, who hates America? Why don't we vote for Rudolph Giuliani, who can't get through a single sentence without saying "9/11"
In all seriousness, why the heck is this a news story. Obama feels that you don't need to wear an American flag pin to be patriotic. I'm sure Hannity doesn't wear one every single day, when hundreds of his listeners tell him how great of an American he is. This is really pathetic. Phony outrage, this time at an all-time low. Barack Obama doesn't wear an American flag pin, so he is not patriotic and he's hurting the troops feelings; how low will Hannity and others sink? Does wearing a little flag pin make you patriotic? Is Rudy Giuliani a patriot because he wears his pin? Is Hillary Clinton a patriot for wearing an American flag pin? The answer is no. They are or are not patriotic based on feelings towards our country and their hopes and efforts to move our country in what they feel is the right direction. Even if their political views and actions are wrong, as long as they believe that they are doing what's best for our country, they are patriotic. Maybe they are stupid and/or incompetent, but not necessarily unpatriotic.
Patriotism isn't reserved to those who wear American flag pins. Patriotism isn't reserved to one party. A person could be a totally off on every single issue facing America, while still being patriotic nonetheless. Hell, who's to say that President Bush isn't patriotic? I tend to strongly disagree with the man almost 100% of the time, and I think he's possibly the worst President in our nation's history, but I'm not going to say that he's unpatriotic. His ideas and the way he goes about running our nation are horrific most of the time, but I think he still loves our country. My problem with him isn't his patriotism, but his incompetence and the way he loves to twist our Constitution. Maybe he really does not want what's best for America and only cares about himself, which would make him unpatriotic. However, despite his incompetence and terrible judgment, who am I to say that he is unpatriotic? Maybe he really is just an idiot or is stuck in a bubble, but that doesn't make him unpatriotic.
Political hacks, such as Kate Obenshain, seem to think that patriotism is only reserved to those that agree with them. Geraldine Ferraro did a brilliant job of making this women sound like the stupid political hack that she is on Hannity & Colmes. I couldn't have said this better myself.
"I have never walked around with a lapel pin. I also don’t walk with a yellow bracelet. I don’t walk around with a pink ribbon. But if you want to ask me if I raise money for cancer research, yes, I do... I don’t need to let people know what I’m doing and I don’t think wearing a flag on your lapel says you’re any more patriotic than the next person."
Hack Obenshain responded by saying that, "It matters to our troops who are in harm’s way." Laughable. Like our troops who are facing IEDs and gunfire everyday worry if Barack Obama is walking around with his American flag lapel. Ferraro responded to Obenshain simply and beautifully by just saying, "Get real. It’s ridiculous."
After being backed into a corner and probably after realizing that her argument would not look good to anyone with half a brain, Obenshain tried to use Obama's political beliefs to show that he is unpatriotic "People already have some serious questions about Barack Obama on foreign policy." As I just said earlier, in people like Kate Obenshain's mind, patriotism is often reserved only to people who agree with them. That is what this is all really about. If this was anyone on the right, this would be a non-issue to Kate Obenshain. I hope it would have been a non-issue to myself if this was Mitt Romney. If it was Romney, Obenshain would say something like, "Well he's for the war, so he's a patriot no matter what; flag or no flag."
Since it happens to be Barack Obama, who's foreign policy she disagrees with, Obenshain is outraged that he isn't walking around wearing his little American flag pin. I'm she she's personally offended and outraged at Obama's shameful actions... Right...Fake outrage strikes again. The hearts of our men and women fighting in Iraq are being torn apart because a Presidential candidate doesn't think that he needs to wear a flag on his suit to be patriotic... Give me a break!
I have an autistic cousin. I don't have an autistic awareness sticker on my car.... Am I not sensitive or aware of autism, because I don't have an autistic awareness bumper sticker on my car? Should my uncle, whose autistic son I try to spend as much time that I possibly can with when he visits from Louisiana, be angry at me and hurt when he notices that I don't have an autism awareness bumper sticker on my car? Will my love for my cousin and the way that I try to make his trips here as fun as possible be scrutinized because of a car without a bumper sticker?
Now I'm not saying that one shouldn't have an autism awareness bumper sticker on their car. I actually bought my mom one on the internet a while back because I knew she wanted one and the money spent went towards a charity benefiting people with autism. I just think that an autism awareness bumper sticker won't really cause anyone who isn't concerned at all about those with autism suddenly become concerned. When it comes to the wearing of the American flag lapel, I frankly thinks it's nice to see a politician who doesn't wear one just to try and act like he or she is patriotic. It's a flag. It's a symbol that represents our nation, and wearing an American flag lapel doesn't make you patriotic. One's love for their country and their desire to make their nation better or she others in power make our nation better through political beliefs that might not even be correct, make someone patriotic. Sean Hannity's phony outrage due to Obama's absent lapel and the hundreds of people who tell Sean that he's "a great American" every day are not signs of his patriotism. I'm not saying that Hannity or even Obenshain are not patriotic, but their opinions on what others such as Obama need to do, wear, or think to be patriotic are both laughable and pathetic. When will the phony outrage stop!