“In Dr. Johnson’s famous dictionary, patriotism is defined as the last resort of a scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but inferior lexicographer I beg to submit that it is the first.” Ambrose Bierce
There are two Sacred Cows in America, Religious faith and Patriotism. To disparage either under any condition will not be tolerated in this country. There are two better unmentioned conservatively incorrect words for both, dogma and jingo.
Let me begin by giving the military a roundhouse upside the head. I was in the military for three long years (which I subtract from my age), one year as an enlisted man and two as an Officer and Gentleman which I believe gives me a modicum of credibility in this matter.
What in the Hell is this crap with the military taking the moral high ground on social issues, or concerning the Bill Clinton years? My God man, their main entertainment is getting drunk and going to whore houses. They have a much higher domestic violence (wife beating) and divorce rate than the general public, and contrary to public opinion they are not there to die for the flag, but to either escape the real world or gather an array of benefits for when they get out. Intellectually? Hey, all 14 people killed by soda machines falling on them while trying to steal a coke were military personal. The military is as close to a totalitarian communist organization as there is in this country. And this delusion about them dying for Old Glory, to halt communism, or to insure freedom and liberty for some group of indigenous peons a half a world away is crap, they honorably give their lives for each other rather than some pile of political jingoism.
Neither can religious faith be questioned in America. Oh sure, the media can go after a religious figure, a cult, or question religion in politics, but to in anyway disparage or question a belief that angels play harps on little white clouds in the sky will not be published, aired or tolerated by either politicians, the mainstream media or in the public square.
"God and Country are an unbeatable team; they break all records for oppression and bloodshed.” Luis Bunue