When I began this blog in 2001, I was appalled by President Bush's headlong rush to an illegal war (we were not in fact under attack). As time wore on and Bush began his assault on the Constitution and any people bold enough to criticize, I believed that "the republic is endangered more by actions of our own government than by those of any terrorist." With the election of a high-minded, compassionate, intelligent man like Barack Obama, my fears have ceased.
"Honor them with peace, not war"
United for Peace
Wednesday, March 13, 2002
Patriotism is a learned behavior, sort of. It is learned in the sense that it is not something innate. .... It comes upon us in the same way that the flu virus comes upon us. Only it is more debilitating.
--R.C. Sproul, The Trouble with Flag-Wavers
...Republicans are not in the mood to answer critics. We're bomb-lobbing for Uncle Sam, mom and apple pie. Who could disagree? At the root, that's the rub. You can't disagree; at least, not without coming off like some sort of grade-A, America-hating jackass.
...Said G.K. Chesterton in The Defendant:'My country, right or wrong,' is a thing that no patriot would think of saying. It is like saying, 'My mother, drunk or sober'— a line that, when fitted for Bush, has special merit.
--Joe Miller, My War, Drunk or Sober
The quotes above are taken from writings of conservatives who believe down to their socks that big government is bad and that liberals demand adherence to a certain line of thought while conservatives are free thinkers, and must have suffered some cognitive dissonance before they sorted things out. (In my view, there are sheep and thinkers on all sides)
GOP responses to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's questions about Bush foreign policy did not reply on point, but rather chastised him for asking. [Trent Lott: How dare Sen. Daschle criticize President Bush while we are fighting our war on terrorism, especially when we have troops in the field? ] . Such responses delight the sheep conservatives but have the thinking conservatives worried. They immediately see the conflict with their views and are not afraid to say so.
In reading the columns quoted above, I find myself disagreeing with their views on other topics, but not on this, as Sproul said: if you don’t want to be free, do nothing, and think nothing. If the government wants your opinion, they’ll give it to you.
Copyright © 2001-03 Pam Shorey
(except the specific sources credited in quotes)
Some Republicans troubled by enforcement of 'patriotism' (aka Keep your mouth shut)
Patriotism is a learned behavior, sort of. It is learned in the sense that it is not something innate. .... It comes upon us in the same way that the flu virus comes upon us. Only it is more debilitating.
--R.C. Sproul, The Trouble with Flag-Wavers
...Republicans are not in the mood to answer critics. We're bomb-lobbing for Uncle Sam, mom and apple pie. Who could disagree? At the root, that's the rub. You can't disagree; at least, not without coming off like some sort of grade-A, America-hating jackass.
...Said G.K. Chesterton in The Defendant:'My country, right or wrong,' is a thing that no patriot would think of saying. It is like saying, 'My mother, drunk or sober'— a line that, when fitted for Bush, has special merit.
--Joe Miller, My War, Drunk or Sober
The quotes above are taken from writings of conservatives who believe down to their socks that big government is bad and that liberals demand adherence to a certain line of thought while conservatives are free thinkers, and must have suffered some cognitive dissonance before they sorted things out. (In my view, there are sheep and thinkers on all sides)
GOP responses to Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle's questions about Bush foreign policy did not reply on point, but rather chastised him for asking. [Trent Lott: How dare Sen. Daschle criticize President Bush while we are fighting our war on terrorism, especially when we have troops in the field? ] . Such responses delight the sheep conservatives but have the thinking conservatives worried. They immediately see the conflict with their views and are not afraid to say so.
In reading the columns quoted above, I find myself disagreeing with their views on other topics, but not on this, as Sproul said: if you don’t want to be free, do nothing, and think nothing. If the government wants your opinion, they’ll give it to you.
Palema
5:44 AM
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Copyright © 2001-03 Pam Shorey
(except the specific sources credited in quotes)
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