Empty Gestures

"I decided I won't wear that pin on my chest," he added. "Instead I'm gonna try to tell the American people what I believe what will make this country great and hopefully that will be a testimony to my patriotism." - Barack Obama (October 2007)

I'm tired of people looking at a politician (or anyone, really) and checking off their marks of patriotism. I'm a little tired of 'patriotism' even being in the debate at all. People express their patriotism in different ways. I usually feel that being knowledgeable enough to speak out against certain political moves (or being able to coherently defend them) is the best form of patriotism. While others think rallying around the president in war time is patriotic, I stick by descension being the greatest form of patriotism: speaking out when things are getting too fucked up and doing your part to stop it. That's what it means to be patriotic. It's not lapel pins; it's not car magnets; it's not flags on your antennae. Learn something. Care about something.

Instead, what we have more and more is people looking at a person's name and calling him a terrorist. Or looking at his pin-less lapel and saying he lacks patriotism.

Exactly what does wearing a pin tell me about Barack Obama (or anyone else)? Does it tell me what his economic plan is? Does it tell me his health care views? Does it tell me how long he'll keep the US in Iraq?

No.

He made a choice not to wear a pin because he doesn't wear his patriotism in a small metal button on his jacket. He expresses it by (a) having a vision to fix the country, (b) knowing enough and having plans towards achieving a healthier country, and (c) being bold enough to run for the cursed job on president despite all the hurdles which still lay in front of him.

I don't think it's unpatriotic for Obama (or anyone else) to ignore the lapel pin trend in Washington because the most unpatriotic of people can still pin a little flag on themselves and say they want what's best: fucking SHOW me. I dare you. George W. Bush isn't a patriot; he's an emperor. All his pin tells me is that he knows how to put a pin on his jacket...or, at least, knows someone who can do that task for him.

But this is an old rant that was re-ignited Friday night. All the English classes I've been taking this semester have forced me to spend less time reading news articles and things I would normally fit into my schedule, but I have to have my nightly therapy of either "The Daily Show" or "Real Time With Bill Maher."

This picture was shown on "Real Time" this week:


The picture plainly shows Barack Obama, Bill Richardson, and Hillary Clinton standing in front of an American flag, all with hands over their hearts except Obama. I have been unable to find anything online about what Maher said about the picture, but he claimed that it was being used against Obama: as a sign he does not respect America because his hand was not over his heart. What Obama's opposition neglects to mention is that the photo was not taken during a recitation of "The Pledge Of Allegance" (as even the caption on www.time.com states), rather "The Star-Spangled Banner."

What difference does it make?

The difference is that the only time it is "required" to put your hand over your heart is during the recitation of the former, NOT the latter. It is, in fact, unnecessary and sometimes incorrect to place your hand over your heart for "The Star-Spangled Banner," "God Bless America," or any of America's other theme songs.

I guess this goes back to my main theme: stop feeding me bullshit and show me what you're really about. But, even more to the point, the American public needs to stop eating the bullshit. Wearing a pin and placing your hand over your heart means NOTHING. Nothing. And whether it's Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, or someone else: it still means nothing. Prove to me that you're a patriot by acting in a way that promotes the country's well being! Be a fucking public servant and do the job WELL. This country deserves it after eight years of terrible mismanagement and diservice.

Eavesdropping And You!

I told you: the NSA really IS watching me! (Or, in this case, listening.)
"After more than a year of heated political wrangling, the Senate handed the White House a major victory Tuesday by voting to broaden the government's spy powers and to give legal protection to phone companies that cooperated in President Bush's warrantless eavesdropping program..."

This isn't good. I know right now we're talking about international calls / groups, but it just gives me a queasy feeling. It just doesn't sit well in my stomach. Today, it's eavesdropping on international calls out of suspicion; what's the excuse tomorrow? I'm uncomfortable knowing that at any time for any reason (since there's no or little accountability here, no one running to get a warrant with evidence in hand) that someone could be listening in on other (likely innocent) people. If this sort of thing is becoming tolerable, are they going to say that eavesdropping on activists is okay because they may all be guilty of trying to start riots?

I have friends overseas, one in India and one in South Africa, specifically. Whenever I write to them, I write as if someone other than my friends are reading. I often discuss politics with them (since whatever happens here will very likely effect them) and I often censor myself. Even in emails I send to friends in the US, I'm careful. It's unfortunate and it makes me worry about what could happen down the road. It makes me worried that there may come a day when activists, writers, artists, thinkers of all kinds may feel pressure to censor themselves because...who really knows who's watching or listening?

During and after the French Revolution, the governments in France and England forced a kind of censorship of writers, mostly poets. There's some really good political poetry from that time, but governments would shut down the publishers that printed such poems. Some writers just gave up; Wordsworth, in a way, is an example. He cooled off and decided it wasn't worth the trouble anymore.

We can't allow ourselves to be silenced in any way. Patriotism isn't, as supporters of legalized eavesdropping claim "in complying with what they believed in good faith was a legally binding order from the president." Patriotism IS defiance. Patriotism IS speech. Today, they claim their actions are against a small group of people in a very specific circumstance. You can choose to believe that, but - given this administration's propensity for lying - you may want to think about it a little bit harder.

In other news, there are more elections going on today. I really wish I could say I had faith in the people of this country, but the last eight years have taught me better. While I will support Obama, I will never say he was my first choice. I just pray he doesn't let me down...I pray he wins in the first place.

It's not, at all, an issue of "lesser evils." I don't see Obama (or Clinton either, really) as being an "evil." I think he has some good ideas, but I'm also cynical and tired of candidates saying anything they think will get them elected. That's one reason I don't like Clinton; she knows words (which is good) and she knows how to manipulate them so as to be as vague as she wants to be, depending on with whom she is speaking. I don't feel Obama is as guilty of that, but I think any major party candidate with a shot at winning does that; it's survival.

It's also unfortunate.

What's refreshing about third party candidates (or...Kucinich, haha) is that they seem more willing to actually say things. Truth in politics sounds like an oxymoron, but that is what I crave. Tell me the truth. Tell me what you'll really do. Broken campaign promises are as cliche (and predictable) as broken hearts.