In a flurry of Internet postings, conservatives across the country have begun to attack the Obamas’ patriotism. Their “evidence” for Barack’s anti-Americanism is twofold: 1. He does not wear an American flag pin in his lapel and 2. There is a picture of him not covering his heart during the national anthem. Michelle Obama’s recent comment that, in light of the uniting and progressive movement growing behind her husband, she is truly “proud of her country for the first time” has also been the subject of mudslinging accusations of an unpatriotic character.
Let’s take each of these political barbs aimed at the Obamas and examine them closely. Since 9/11, a flag in the lapel has been a piece of the uniform for any politician caught within a football field of a camera, except Obama. He took his off in October. Conservatives reason that his unwillingness to sport the blaze of American freedom (in the shape of a five cent piece of tin) signals deeper anti-patriotism and a membership to what Republican strategist and swift boat add sponsor Keith Appell calls the “blame America first crowd.”
They miss the point. Obama’s entire candidacy is based on not blindly accepting the status quo ideas and symbols of American politics because a lot of them are dumb. He decided to take off his pin in Iowa because he though, in light of the Iraq war, it had become “a substitute for real patriotism.” He knows the truth: a lapel pin isn’t worth a shake of patriotism if the actions of its wearer are not truly in their county’s best interest.
As for the hand on the heart, give me a break. The type of tenuous logic so avidly clung to by conservative attack dogs that links missing the now-its-time-to-put-your-hand-over-your-heart cue to hating America is the same type that linked Iraq to Al Qaeda: bogus. To get a true sense of the patriotism of Obama (or anyone) you need more than a picture. Listen to his words, check out his policies and, most importantly, pay attention to his biography.
After finishing undergrad at Columbia, Obama went on to get his law degree at Harvard, where he was the editor of the Harvard Law Review. His education ensured all the offers of six figure salaries and company cars one could want from Wall Street, but instead of pursuing riches, Obama decided to use his considerable talent to litigate in defense of civil liberties, the bedrock of American freedom. He dedicated his time to organizing communities in the most troubled areas of Chicago and helping the disenfranchised with his eloquent and powerful advocacy.
Perhaps in Republican America, where the dollar reigns supreme and profit is the greatest moral trump, he did do the unpatriotic thing by rejecting fortune on Wall Street. And maybe people like Keith Appell don’t like that he helped poor people for a modest living instead of screwing them over to earn a new SUV. But I like it, and America needs it.
The third issue, Michelle’s statement about her limited pride for her country, has made a bigger splash in the news and with voters, especially when Cindy McCain, the presumptive potential First Lady for the Republicans, said she “always has been and always will be proud of her country.” I’m sorry Cindy, you were proud of America during the covered-up and horrific bombings of Cambodia under Nixon? The Iran Contra deal just make you glow with pleasure at your country’s national righteousness? Apparently so.
And that’s why I don’t want Cindy McCain to be first lady or her husband to be Commander-in-Chief: unquestioning pride is a foundational virtue for them. They and their Republican colleagues would attack the very notion that a presidential candidate should question the patriotism in a pin or that one woman’s national pride is reserved for deserving times. In my opinion the “America’s always right” crowd is far more pernicious than a “blame America first” crowd: what is patriotism without action or pride without limit? The lack of critical ability and nuance displayed by Republicans in this exchange has been astounding and its implications scare me more than threat of terrorist attack (oh shoot, I forgot were in a War on Terror: I’m afraid, McCain, really I am…).
On the other hand, I am filled with hope when presented with the possibility that two individuals of great analytical ability and courage, Michelle and Barack Obama, stand poised to lead our country for the next four years. Lapel pins have replaced patriotism for far too long; bring in the real deal.