Son Volt -"Tear Stained Eye"
Despite that, the Vikings still suck, G. W. Bush is still an idiot (despite what we are told), and I'm still in school. Things may be different, but they're still the same.
I don't like talking about Sept. 11. That is because, no matter how hard I try, I have trouble feeling bad about it. Yes, it is sad that thousands died. Yes, we're going to be involved in a long, drawn-out campaign in the near-East. But things like this happen all of the time. Just not in America.
We are not special. We are not better than the rest of the world. Outrage at death should not be confined to American death. But that is how we deal with it. For shame.
Americans also feel that unless you have a flag and support everything the Commandeerer in Thief does, you are un-American. This is because flags make us patriotic. I call Bullshit (c. Chance Prigge).
Bill Maher has been attacked for calling the government cowards and speaking what he sees as the truth, that the hijackers, whatever else you want to say about them, were not cowards. Dying for what you believe in, no matter how misguided, is not cowardly.
ABC has been strong in supporting Maher, but Secretary Rumsfeld made it clear that dissent, the strength of the American character, will not be tolerated. We might as well be living in Afghanistan.
Speaking of patriotism, state workers here in Minnesota are on strike. They have had no raises in 10 years, and were promised a contractual raise for passing one up then. Now, they are called unpatriotic for striking. Organized Labor has been the only thing in this country that keeps business from destroting the country. The fact that the State of Minnesota now wants to go the way of business and screw their workers over doesn't change the fact that the right to make a decent wage in America is not granted, and must be fought for.
Striking workers have been attacked as "unpatriotic" and even "no different than the terrorists." This shows the underlying feeling in America that capitalism is more important that people.
As long as there are workers, they will be screwed over by their employers. Unions and strikes are just one way to keep that number to a minimum.
As for "patriotism," we all need to look back at the foundations on which this country was built. Questioning of authority, a feeling of unity for the people, and the duty to speak against leadership that is wrong. Anyone who tells you differently is not a patriot, but the result of a big steaming package of bullshit that has been fed to them since they were born. Question them.
I'm Ken Feucht, and I am a patriot.