Comments on: Political Culture: Patriotism and the Mind-Body Problem

By: 1Py_Korry1

1Py_Korry1 — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 01:44:36 +0000

Great post, Jon! I like the way in which you weave in “Body Theory” into your piece.

By: 1Py_Korry1

1Py_Korry1 — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 00:44:36 +0000

Great post, Jon! I like the way in which you weave in “Body Theory” into your piece.

By: JonCummings

JonCummings — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 15:50:48 +0000

Sigh…

To parse your comment, from the lame “Obamessiah” insult forward, is to pluck the petals from the ugly, foul-smelling flower of modern conservatism. The fact that the Republicans' FIRST ploy against a new opponent is toward name-calling and disrespect is a sure sign of a party that knows perfectly well it doesn't have a single idea, much less a good one, about how to run a country.

I would never disrespect John McCain–at least not before he earns it–but I do have one question: You talk about substance, but does McCain have a SINGLE policy position besides maintaining our presence in Iraq and continuing George Bush's fearmongering on terror? Talk about an empty vessel. A huge majority of the American public feels the country is seriously out of whack, and McCain's talking as though the only problems we have are Islamic fundamentalism and…earmarks.

By: jefito

jefito — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 15:37:21 +0000

It probably won't surprise you to know that I was an Edwards guy, Eric, and I'm not laying palm fronds at Obama's feet by any means. But John McCain is a lunatic, and another Clinton presidency means more of the center “left” B.S. that crippled the Democratic Party in the '90s. For guys like me, it's Obama or bust…or maybe Obama and bust.

By: eric

eric — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 14:48:05 +0000

The Obamessiah's problem is not the lack of a lapel pin. It is a lack of gravitas. We live in a most dangerous world, and Barack lives in a fantasyland where he thinks you can even negotiate with a rabid dog without preconditions. Then he goes off subtly threatening our nearest neighbor Canada on trade — that's Canada, our biggest source of needed foreign oil. To say nothing of his fervor for Iraq withdrawl in spite of Al Qaeda presence. (As Mrs. Clinton says, “Well, they (Al Qaeda) may not have been there before, but they're there now.) The man is a lightweight.

Obama's lack of the accoutrements of patriotism is a fitting symbolic indicator of his lack in other areas. This election will apparently be a showdown between style and substance. The American people, in their willingness to buy into Obama's dream world, might prefer style, but it will be to the long-term detriment of our economy and our security.

By: Zack

Zack — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:20:52 +0000

Heh heh heh.

By: Zack

Zack — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 00:20:25 +0000

I think it's more that he fails the purity test for being “insufficiently conservative”.

By: hagen

hagen — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:09:33 +0000

I had a piece of Greta. Fortunately, she wasn't very conservative…

By: the modern serf

the modern serf — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 11:34:47 +0000

nobdody who cares that much about flag pins was going to vote for obama anyways. for that matter, nobody who listens to talk radio was going to vote for obama either; most of them consider mccain “too liberal.”

By: DwDunphy

DwDunphy — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 02:45:06 +0000

Conservatism, at its core, has nothing to do with the idolatry of graven images, and yet this newfound conservatism somehow would rather proudly avoid the message yet marvel at the box it was packaged in. Isn't that what the pin is about, some visual statement of patriotism?

Okay then. Here's patriotism for you: President Bush announced today that the economy wasn't that bad and the rebates will come right on time to pull up any of the sagging parts. At the same time Ben Bernanke announced another interest cut and "several more" in the future he describes as "dire".

I won't even go into the implications of the war because I fear it'll just be a lot of words that won't impact you. However, the center of the conservative political universe said things are getting better while the man put in the position to gauge these things unequivocally contradicted it. Will wearing a pin rectify the financial situation and, if so, how? Will an outward show of patriotism actually set wheels in motion to alter our negative course or will it simply look like we really, really love our country as we sink it to yet another new low?

Rome and ancient Greece loved the power of symbolism and now those symbols are artifacts in museums gathering dust. We need actions, not artifacts.