The Death of Patriotism

In my recent spate of heavy travel I have been struck by the debate amongst average citizens around the world regarding America's immigration issue.  I have heard people from several countries talk about their perceptions based on the media coverage they get in their hotel rooms, in airpoprt bars, and splashed over the pages of USA Today.

Having engaged in some of these discussions, I think that qualifies me as an expert, having conducted many opinion polls from a so-called cross section of "likely voters" (all sarcasm fully intended and implied).  What I find amazing is the extent to which these non-Americans will go to villify illegal immigration through their own borders, and decry the effects of these immigrants on their lives and their economies, and interestingly enough they are most emphatic and vehement about the dilution of their culture.  Yet, here at home we face charges of racism and bigotry at every turn should we dare make these same assertions about unwelcome illegal visitors to out own lands.

As we all know, the French and the Germans and, to a lesser degree, the Brits are all very proud of who they are and from whence they come, and their perception of what level of respect their country is owed from the rest of the world.  Where has that gone in our own country?  The purportedly most powerful nation on earth?  The lone superpower?  How have we come to the point of apologizing to ourselves and the rest of the world for being us?

Several stories in the news in recent days have given me pause about Patriotism and how it is being treated around the country.  There's the one about about reactions from students to a Mexican flag being raised ABOVE an American flag at a high school in Arizona.  The person responsible for raising that flag above the American flag felt it appropriate in response to a "remark directed at him" earlier.

We have a school in Houston intentionally raising the Mexican flag.  We have late night pranks switching out American flags for Mexican flags, and most recently, a Mexican flag flown over an upside down American flag.

Today, we find a growing movement in public schools that are banning American flags all together .  

I am afraid we have lost our collective minds in this the latest chapter of  rewriting the Constitution to appease the vocal minority and silence the throngs of those who would stand up and fight FOR this country and all she stands for.

We have the Minutemen trying to draw attention to the holes in the border and they are villified as racists and bigots and vigilantes.  We have students speaking out against Mexican flags being raised over their American flags, and are having the exercise of their first amendment rights taken away, and we have our elected officials ignoring our voices and insisting there is nothing we can do and we are incessantly reminded that we are a nation of immigrants.

So, where has all the patriotism gone?  We can't wear our flags on our clothes, we can't burn flags if they are NOT American, we can't peaceably assemble at the border, and we have no redress of the Government.  

This is the time to stand up and stand together, and at every turn, we are being collectively shut down.  Should this trend continue, those who would have us forfeit our "most powerful country on Earth" status will ultimately prevail.