Are Blacks Incapable of Patriotism?

Email Print posted by nfc 04/25/2008 07:16:43 PM EST

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http://online.wsj.com/artic le/declarations.html

This is absolutely astonishing!  Peggy Noonan actually argues that Obama's patriotism is in question because of the history of this country being pervasively racist.  Due to long standing--and justified--resentments about grave injustices from slavery through Jim Crowe and beyond, the reason Obama (read "any black person") is deserving of scrutiny regarding his patriotism is because given the US's deplorable history of racism and violence against black people it is legitimate to question whether Obama has internalized and weeps with heart-felt reverence at the unquestionable greatness of all of America's story.  How could anyone actually be patriotic and love their country if their view of that country is somehow inexplicably colored by systematic oppression and violence even during that person’s lifetime?  How dare they even try to claim that they love their country!  What snooty, lefty, pompous elitism to even intimate that he/she would or even could!   

"...Hillary Clinton is not Barack Obama's problem. America is Mr. Obama's problem. He has been tagged as a snooty lefty, as the glamorous, ambivalent candidate from Men's Vogue, the candidate who loves America because of the great progress it has made in terms of racial fairness. Fine, good. But has he ever gotten misty-eyed over . . . the Wright Brothers and what kind of country allowed them to go off on their own and change everything? How about D-Day, or George Washington, or Henry Ford, or the losers and brigands who flocked to Sutter's Mill, who pushed their way west because there was gold in them thar hills? There's gold in that history.
John McCain carries it in his bones. Mr. McCain learned it in school, in the Naval Academy, and, literally, at grandpa's knee. Mrs. Clinton learned at least its importance in her long slog through Arkansas, circa 1977-92.

Mr. Obama? What does he think about all that history? Which is another way of saying: What does he think of America? That's why people talk about the flag pin absent from the lapel. They wonder if it means something. Not that the presence of the pin proves love of country – any cynic can wear a pin, and many cynics do. But what about Obama and America? Who would have taught him to love it, and what did he learn was loveable, and what does he think about it all?  Another challenge. Snooty lefties get angry when you ask them to talk about these things. They get resentful. Who are you to question my patriotism? But no one is questioning his patriotism, they're questioning its content, its fullness. Gate 14 has a right to hear this. They'd lean forward to hear."



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Are Blacks Incapable of Patriotism? | 6 comments (6 topical, 0 hidden)
BULL SHIT (none / 0)
What a bull-shit article. Assuming the article's premise is right, it assumes that there is only one form of patriotism. Firstly, WSJ is the most bull-shit spewed on paper since Stalin's democratic constitution. Secondly, she assumes that there is a monolithic interpretation of American nationalism and patriotism. What about Henry Ford? Did he not support Hitler and write a whole book on the Jewish question? What about the West? Was that not an imperialist expansion of the Republic at the expense of millions of dispossessed natives?

In fact, her unquestionable interpretation of the American narrative. Obama represents what she is not, the non-white elite interpretation of America, the non-elite interpretation of America. America has a lot to be proud of, however America's narrative and history has to be grounded in the reality that it is not all so pretty.

Blog: http://perspectivos.blogspo t.com/

by Nick86 on 04/25/2008 08:49:07 PM EST

10/10 (none / 0)
would rage again.

What a complete, utter bullshit artist.

by jarett on 04/25/2008 08:49:30 PM EST

hold on people (none / 0)
Give Noonan her due. She wrote some pretty pro-Obama pieces not too long ago, and didn't utter a thoughtless word in the wake of his race speech. That being said, she's wrong about Obama's lack of classic patriotism. He invokes the American Revolution and the Civil War in his stump speech all the time, not to mention the race to the moon and civil rights. He may not be trumpeting the gold rush, but who does? I don't care much about it either. My ancestors were on the wagon trains, but I don't go around telling everyone "westward ho" (means something different to speakers of ebonics anyhow). I'm not proud of it--because who gives a shit? So yeah it's a silly b.s. point. But take Peggy's column in context. She's no KenTX.

"If you're not worried, you're not paying attention." --Cenk Uygur

by hazmat on 04/25/2008 09:06:13 PM EST

Also (none / 0)
Did not Obama begin its campaign where Lincoln started his?

Blog: http://perspectivos.blogspo t.com/

by Nick86 on 04/25/2008 11:03:27 PM EST

This is a COMPLETE bullshit insult (none / 0)
I take total offense to the whole premise of this blog post. This racial shit is getting totally out of hand and has got to stop. This article pisses on the graves of the MANY black people who went to war and died for this country. It spits in the face of the many of my people who loved this country so much so that even with Jim Crow in full effect, volunteered to fight in every major war this country has had. Even with that, they had to actually protest to be allowed to fight on the front lines. On top of that, they had to return to a country full of people who hated them and actually lynched some in full uniform for God's sake. And yet, we were STILL patriotic and full of love for the USA.

This article mentions NOTHING about the many, many contributions of Afro-Americans in making this nation what it is today. What an insult. She mentions D-day, but says nothing about the evil Jim Crow laws that would not even allow black solders to fight. Also, there were PLENTY of black folks on those trails to the west, right along with McCain's. Do you think we just magically appeared out west? Many of my ancestors migrated there after being freed from slavery. No mention of that though. People really need to check their history before spouting off at the mouth. Our roots here are deeper than many other ethnic groups. After all that black people were put through the last 400 years, for us to love this country as we do is something that should be celebrated, not hated on. Do people actually hate the idea of Obama being president so much that they would come up with a punk-ass bullshit argument like this? Why does he have to prove his patriotism to you and you don't have to prove yours to him? Weak sauce as Cenk would say. Let's just call it the racism that it is.

This article is obviously written by someone who does not have a clue about what is means to be black in America. Let me get this straight so that you all understand. This is our country too and from the brother in prison, to the single black mom, and all the way up to those of us who may sit in boardrooms, WE ARE AMERICANS FIRST and we all love this country as much or more than any other Americans, considering what we have been put through. It is the only country we have.


Patriotism has NOTHING to do with skin color. This is a non-issue to me. Every group that is here is bound by the thread of patriotism, no matter what their history is. Out of many...one. Corny sounding, but true. As soon as we lose that, the fall of America will hasten. This fake racialist discussion is just another nail in this country's coffin.

Sorry for the wordy post. I know you guys don't buy what's being sold here (at least I hope not), this crap just made my blood boil.

by mijoh on 04/27/2008 12:57:01 AM EST

Thank you (none / 0)

You could not be more correct.

We should ponder how much patriotism it takes to love a country that hands you everything you could ever want (a la Bush) and compare that to how much patriotism it takes to be willing to kill and die for a country that has historically despised you for the status of your birth.

I wonder how Dorie Cook or Cripus Attucks would respnd to this article? 

by ProfRich on 04/27/2008 09:12:16 AM EST

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Are Blacks Incapable of Patriotism? | 6 comments (6 topical, 0 hidden)
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