Patriots Are a Bigger Part of the Problem Than What They Fight
Recently, I was involved in a comment conversation with Gordon Duff of Veterans Today, a web magazine dedicated to Veterans issues. The topic of the post around which this conversation took place was his call for the arrest of five US Supreme Court Justices for what he called “treason.” I politely informed him that if you claim rights on a constitutional basis, you’re trespassing on another’s copyright and that he had no constitutional rights. I showed him in case law where what I said was the truth, and challenged him to prove me wrong. I even went so far as to offer my phone number so that he could call me and we could discuss this issue.
How did he respond? By deleting all of my comments as if I were some troll, seeking to rile up the readers of the site. While that may have been the outcome, it was not my aim. It seems that censorship is the easiest (read: lazy) way of avoiding a paradigm-shattering truth. When confronted with information that challenges deeply held beliefs, the first reaction is violent denial. Why is that, you may ask? Because it’s the first stage of the grieving process. People cling to their beliefs like they cling to their family and pets. If the information presented itself that your child was a serial killer, what do you suppose your first reaction would be? This is no different.
To Gordon: Should you read this, know that I mean you no ill will. The point of the argument is the same. You have no constitutional rights, and to claim them is an actionable offense. I genuinely hope you can figure out that I’m not a “Fox News / Michael Steele shill” (whatever that is), and I have no intention of ever being so. In fact, I’m attempting to help people figure out that they’ve been sold a lie, and the solution is not in the system, but out of it. Also, should you comment here, I will not delete your comment, even if you use foul language and make personal attacks against me. I believe everyone is entitled to his opinion, even when it’s stupid.
This brings me to the point of this article…
The modern American patriot is so hopelessly tied to false knowledge and erroneous beliefs, he can’t see the truth when it’s placed in front of him in black and white, and from the sources in which he claims to believe.
The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge.
— Elbert Hubbard
I caution anyone who considers himself a “patriot” to ponder the word. Have you given any thought to what it means to be a patriot? To identify oneself with the geographic locality in which one was born, and to pledge allegiance to the government thereof, or the ideal of that place is a dangerous proposition. As David has said, “There are roughly 6.5 billion religions (philosophies) in the world, and all of them are right.” Wiser men then myself have weighed in on this issue, so let’s hear what they have to say.
Um, dude… Your stupid is showing…
Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
–Samuel Johnson
Patriotism is the virtue of the vicious.
–Oscar Wilde
When a whole nation is roaring patriotism at the top of its voice, I am fain to explore the cleanness of its hands and purity of its heart.
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
Of course the people don’t want war…that is understood. But voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.
–Hermann Goering
Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons.
–Bertrand Russell
Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it.
–George Bernard Shaw
Patriot: the person who can holler the loudest without knowing what he is hollering about.
–Mark Twain
There are so much more, this simple article could stretch forever. It should suffice to say that patriotism is yet another tool in the propaganda and control arsenal. Tread lightly in matters of loyalty. The surest way to find yourself on the wrong side of a moral quandary is to base your opinion on patriotic duty. <– You can attribute that one to me.