Letters to the Editor
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Sure it's right here:
"In fact, the same all-American flag-wavers who called loudest for war against Iraq are now denouncing Wright as a hate-monger and a traitor, and attacking Michelle Obama for saying that only recently has she had reason to feel proud of her country. "
Gary says that flag waivers e.g. patriotic types are angry misguided fools
"They insist that anyone who is not permanently proud of the United States, whose patriotism isn't plastered on his or her face like the frozen smile of a beauty queen waving from a Fourth of July float, is beyond the pale."
Gay says here that patriotism is a binary choice either you are fawing over America (and that's bad) or you're essentially an enemy of the state (and that's good). Also nice touch of Eastern European Jewish history coming from a guy who's about as antizionist as the Arab press ('The Pale').
"Never mind that the glorious results of their debased version of patriotism -- 4,000 American troops dead, a wrecked Iraq, and a greatly strengthened terrorist enemy -- are plain for all to see."
As oppose to what other kind of patriotism. We've already established Gary feels it is an either or proposition.
"You wouldn't expect the Republican Party, Fox News, Bill Kristol or the readers of FreeRepublic to issue any mea culpas -- they don't acknowledge that they've done anything wrong."
No you would not, this is a nonsequitor.
"But the mainstream media's pious tut-tutting over the Wright affair shows that it, too, has learned nothing from its disgraceful post 9/11 performance."
One of these has nothing to do with one another. Does Gary seriously expect us to draw the parallel that NOT claiming the US basically caused and deserved 911 is the same line of thought as criticizing people who do? That quite frankly is either stupid or insane.
"The worst excesses of media groveling -- the flag pins, the instructions not to run anti-U.S. stories -- may be history, but the timorous mind-set remains the same."
Same as what? I would say that the online blogging news world probably runs 80/20 against the war. It's that 20% that actually agrees with 100% of Rev Wright, even the crazy parts. That's just groveling to a different god.
"Its reaction to Wright shows that the American establishment still cowers before the patriotic idol."
No it's a reaction to hate speech. It might be radical liberal anointed and approved PC hate speech but it's still hate speech.
I mean if Gary wants to play these stupid semantic games than I guess we can assert that all those uppity niggers brought lynching down on themselves too, can't we? Oooh but we're not going to do that because that would be un PC.