"Patriot Day"

Remember that here in 21st-century America, the definition, substance, fuction and purpose of patriotism entails questioning the patriotism of others.

So please, in recognition of the true spirit of Patriot Day, take the time to question someone's patriotism. Go talk to that colleague at work-- the one who hasn't worn his flag lapel-pin lately -- and ask him why he hates this wonderful country. Greet your co-workers with a cheerful holiday greeting -- "Love it or leave it!" -- but don't make it so cheery that they fail to appreciate this is not a hypothetical ultimatum. Play Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A." over and over at your desk until someone complains, then ask them what it is they don't like about the song -- "God"? "The U.S.A.?" Or both?

Take five minutes out of your busy day to upbraid someone for having only the bare minimum of patriotic flair adorning their car ("Just the one magnet? Looks like somebody doesn't really support the troops.")

If you can't be bothered to take just five minutes to do that, well, then I suppose I question your patriotism.

Mark Twain* understood the true meaning of Patriot Day:

We teach the boys to atrophy their independence. We teach them to take their patriotism at second-hand; to shout with the largest crowd without examining into the right or wrong of the matter -- exactly as boys under monarchies are taught and have always been taught. We teach them to regard as traitors, and hold in aversion and contempt, such as do not shout with the crowd, and so here in our democracy we are cheering a thing which of all things is most foreign to it and out of place -- the delivery of our political conscience into somebody else's keeping. This is patriotism on the Russian plan.

So remember, today is a day to atrophy your independence, to deliver your political conscience into somebody else's keeping. Go out there and celebrate Patriot Day. Shout with the crowd and -- more importantly -- hold in aversion and contempt such as do not.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

* Quoted in Albert Bigelow Paine's (1912) Mark Twain: A Biography, from Twain's draft of an unpublished article or speech.

Comments

[Geds]

And here I was all worried that my 9/11 memorial deconstruction of the myth of a "Christian Nation" over at my blog was going to be inappropriately irreverent of the anniversary.

Thank you, Fred. Your snark is much appreciated.

[grenadine]

dulce et decorum est...

[Buhallin]

I've come to hate that Lee Greenwood song.

While fully appreciating Fred's snarkiness, may I suggest Neil Diamond's 'America' as an alternative? After all, anyone who hates immigrants hates the source of our country, and therefore hates the country!

[damnedyankee]

May I suggest that this ridiculous "Patriot Day" moniker be scrapped before somebody starts producing greeting cards and we start seeing Patriot Day Sales and Clearances at our local mercantiles and used automobile dealers?

Oh, and on a personal note, can we see the guy who thought of this appellation be horsewhipped and then dipped bodily into rubbing alcohol?

[cjmr's husband]

dipped bodily into rubbing alcohol

A simple tar-and-feathering would be more appropriate in the places where the real Patriot's Day is still honored.

[damnedyankee]

A simple tar-and-feathering would be more appropriate

We can do that, too.

[Ecks]

How long is a nation normally expected to wait before the day commemorating their bloody battle, massacre, prison storming, saint/messiah killing, god-slaughtering-of-the-non-us-populace, etc, is turned into a happy day off and all round excuse to get drunk with friends and/or relatives?

Though it occurs to me that the really BIG celebrations are generally for the bloody battles that *our side* did more of the killing for... It's sort of a serious questions, I think most cultures do this at some point.

[PurpleGirl]

Hold it! Oh, Patriot Day... I did a double-take on the posting's title. I thought I read Patriot's Day and wondered about the moniker because that's a holiday in Massachusetts... Do we get to include domestic terrorists and their actions like Oklahoma City/Tim McVeigh?

[Lila]

Today is a good day for John M. Ford's 110 Stories.

[bulbul]

How long is a nation normally expected to wait before the day commemorating their bloody battle, massacre, prison storming, saint/messiah killing, god-slaughtering-of-the-non-us-populace, etc, is turned into a happy day off and all round excuse to get drunk with friends and/or relatives?
The rule of thumb is 'until the children of those who lived through said day AND who don't remember that day or its aftermath are old enough to drink'. So 10-15 years, give or take.

[Richard Hershberger]

Shouldn't we have celebrated Patriot Day yesterday, making a long weekend of it?

[Kate]

The patriot's dream is as old as the sky
it lives in the lust of the cold callous lie
let's drink to the men who got caught by the chill
of that patriotic fever and the cold steel that kills
- Gordon Lightfoot "Patriot Dream"

[Rozzen]

How long is a nation normally expected to wait before the day commemorating their bloody battle, massacre, prison storming, saint/messiah killing, god-slaughtering-of-the-non-us-populace, etc, is turned into a happy day off and all round excuse to get drunk with friends and/or relatives?

On the other hand, all your examples are good things, to the people commemorating them at least. (as the story goes, all of France wonders why the English name their squares and stations after famous defeats)
So from the first day they would be happy days off and all round excuses to get drunk, etc.
I can't think off the top of my head of another non-religious holiday that commemorates a catastrophe. For instance, there are bank holidays in France for the two world wars, but here is the point, they commemorate the end of the two world wars.

[cjmr's husband]

The biggest one I can think of is the Fourth of July, which commemorates the beginning of a war.

[Rozzen]

It's the beginning of a war, but it's a war for the country's independence so it would count as a good thing to me...

[Ursula L]

Not quite the beginning of the war - hostilities began in April of 1775, and the holiday only commemorates the release of the document of the Declaration of Independence, over a year later.

[K]

Will my ITMFA flag lapel pin be acceptable?

[cjmr]

ITMFA?

[Chuck]

"Impeach The Mother-Fucker Already", I think. Dan Savage?

[swampman]

I like your idea for the Lee Greenwood song, Fred, but I think my original plan will have the same effect - I'm tattooing the Old Glory across my naked body before I go to class today. Who dares arrest the most patriotic man in the contiguous 48? The Viet-Cong, that's who!

[Jack]

There's only one important question concerning the attacks, did the US gov't allow/participate in 9/11?

The answer to that query would explain the illegal wire-taps, suspension of habeas corpus, banning of books like "America Deceived" from Amazon, detaining of dissenters in fences miles away from events, and multiple wars based on lies.

How can the gov't be innocent in 9/11 when we have caught it lying so many times (WACO, Ruby Ridge, no WMDs, USS Liberty, Operation Northwoods, Gulf of Tonkin, Pearl Harbor, ETC.)?

In law, if you determine a person lies ONCE during his testimony, it can be assumed that he lied in the remainder of his testimony. How come we do not hold the gov't to the same standard as it holds us to?

The gov't lied to us about Iraq and more Americans have died there than in 9/11. If the gov't lied about Iraq then why is everyone so reluctant to believe that the gov't lied about 9/11?

Final link (before Google Books bends to pressure and drops the title):
America Deceived (book)

[cjmr's husband]

Six hours for the troll to get here? He's getting slow in his old age.

[cjmr]

He needed time to write the new copy.

[Rozzen]

The gov't lied to us about Iraq and more Americans have died there than in 9/11. If the gov't lied about Iraq then why is everyone so reluctant to believe that the gov't lied about 9/11?

Because 9/11 killed 3000 innocent, rich-to-middle-class WASPs. End of story.
(well maybe not 3000 but you get the idea)

[damnedyankee]

Because every argument that I've seen put forward by the "9/11 was an inside job!" crowd holds about as much water as a sieve with three more holes shot into it:

"The towers' collapse looked like a planned demolition!" - Do you know what it takes to prepare a building for demolition? It's practically hollowed out by the time the bombs are laid. Nobody could even safely enter the building, much less go to work and not realize that there's anything amiss.

"Steel doesn't melt at the temperatures generated by an exploding plane!" - No, but it does lose 90% of its tensile strength at those temperatures, which will not hold up a skyscraper.

I could go on, but I've made my point. You clowns provide Bush and his supporters all the cover they need, by giving them the chance to paint all opposition with the same broad brush, saying that we all embrace your insane (let me repeat that: INSANE) conspiracy theory.

You're doing their work for them, spambait.

[damnedyankee]

And another thing: George W. Bush, the best friend an international conglomerate ever had, bombing Wall Street?

[Ursula L]

For those who are interested, Popular Mechanics goes through and debunks the major conspiracy theories here: http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military_law/1227842.html and there is a lot more debunking work done here: http://www.debunking911.com/index.html

[John]

For a comparative holiday, I really have to go to the one that was observed on July 23 of this year by a few. It's called Tisha b'av, which in Hebrew means "Ninth of Av". It's the day that alledgedly both the First and Second Temples were destroyed, along with a few other disasters in Jewish history. It's set aside to remember all the tragedies, regardless of what day they fell upon. It's observed by a fast, not a feast.

[Consumer Unit 5012]

The main problem I have with the "Bush rigged 9/11" theory is that pulling something so abhorrent off successfully and NOT GETTING CAUGHT would require vastly more competence than his administration has ever displayed at anything else.

[Andrew Farrell]

I can't think off the top of my head of another non-religious holiday that commemorates a catastrophe.

ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand commemorates the anniversary of their soldiers getting the crap kicked out of them at the landing on Gallipoli in 1915.

[cjmr]

I can't think off the top of my head of another non-religious holiday that commemorates a catastrophe.

Pearl Harbor Day? (I know, I know, it isn't universally celebrated. Or even nationwidely celebrated.)

[bulbul]

I can't think off the top of my head of another non-religious holiday that commemorates a catastrophe.
If it's worldwide, there's for example Vidov dan in Serbia, the anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo polje of 1389 where the Serbs were defeated by the Turks. But then again, it is also a religious holiday, St. Vitus day.
Ironically enough, there is also the National Day of Catalonia celebrated today, which commemorates the defeat of the Catalonians at the hands of the Bourbons.

And let me just add "Visca Catalunya lluire!"

[bulbul]

ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand
Ah yes, that one.

[Jeff]

Because every argument that I've seen put forward by the "9/11 was an inside job!" crowd holds about as much water as a sieve with three more holes shot into it

There's no doubt in my mind, however, that BushCo aided and abetted the attack. From closing down investigations into al Quida (because Clinton had started them), to putting the most pathetic person EVAH in the NSA ("No one gave me a plaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!". It's your job to devise a plan, stupid!) to ignoring all signs, BushCo couldn't have helped al Quida more if they HAD planted bombs.

[Ayezur]

There's no doubt in my mind, however, that BushCo aided and abetted the attack. From closing down investigations into al Quida (because Clinton had started them), to putting the most pathetic person EVAH in the NSA ("No one gave me a plaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!". It's your job to devise a plan, stupid!) to ignoring all signs, BushCo couldn't have helped al Quida more if they HAD planted bombs.

Exactly. Never attribute to conspiracy what can easily be explained by incompetence. As it were.

[LM]

I can't think off the top of my head of another non-religious holiday that commemorates a catastrophe.

Columbus Day. ;p~

[Jesurgislac]

I can't think off the top of my head of another non-religious holiday that commemorates a catastrophe.

Guy Fawkes Day.

("Remember, remember, the fifth of November, Gunpowder, treason, and plot! I see no reason why gunpowder treason should ever be forgot!")

And then Guy Fawkes gets burnt in effigy and it's all good fun until somebody loses an eye.

[cjmr's husband]

Hey, the American thing with the fireworks is about Treason Against the Crown too!

[85% Duane]

Wow. Fred, you and your sycophants have really turned on America with this post. I'm going to have to change my posting name or risk being hanged with you.

[85% Duane]

Hey, the American thing with the fireworks is about Treason Against the Crown too!

What is that about anyway? The neighbor behind me sets off fireworks EVERY holiday, and most Saturday nights these days. Does this have something to do with Great Britain or is he just white trash?

[Drak Pope]

What's the difference between white trash and the British? One lives in a broken down trailer in the middle of the prairies and spends most of his time spitting tobacco on the ground and committing incest while the other is a derogatory term used to describe lower-class rural North Americans.

[McJulie]

So, there's something I don't get about most 9/11 conspiracy theorists -- why are they obsessed with arcane stuff like "it looks like a planned demolition!" and not the really super obvious, yet still amazingly successful, Bush Administration conspiracy to ruthlessly and cynically exploit 9/11 to consolidate political power, bully the opposition, and justify every single stupid thing they already wanted to do anyway including the Iraq invasion?

Is the real conspiracy just too obvious, clear, and well-documented?

[bulbul]

Dammit, now I want to be a traitor too. The problem is, I have noone to commit treason against. Any ideas?

[cjmr]

the really super obvious, yet still amazingly successful, Bush Administration conspiracy to ruthlessly and cynically exploit 9/11 to consolidate political power, bully the opposition, and justify every single stupid thing they already wanted to do anyway including the Iraq invasion?

You forgot the part about funneling tax dollars to their cronies through 'no-bid' reconstruction and security contracts.

[Jesurgislac]

What's the difference between white trash and the British? One lives in a broken down trailer in the middle of the prairies and spends most of his time spitting tobacco on the ground and committing incest while the other is a derogatory term used to describe lower-class rural North Americans.

I do not spend most of my time spitting tobacco on the ground.

[Jeff]

Dammit, now I want to be a traitor too. The problem is, I have noone to commit treason against. Any ideas?

You're European. That means you're committing treason against the US just by existing. You have to do something special (got some land for a Black Prison?) to avoid committing treason!

See how easy it is when you're brain-dead a conservative!

[bulbul]

You're European. That means you're committing treason against the US just by existing.
Whew! Thanks Jeff, that's a load of my mind. Now I can go to sleep feeling proud and rebellious.

[Jeff]

Whew! Thanks Jeff, that's a load of my mind. Now I can go to sleep feeling proud and rebellious.

Hey, anything for a friend Commie!

[John]

Hey, if you want to question someone's patriotism, you can't do better than a full page ad in the NYT. MoveOn.org shows the way!

[Bugmaster]

"General Petraeus or General Betray Us?" WTF ? Who wrote this, a 12-year old script kiddie ? I used to respect moveon.org, but not anymore.