Channel Mike

I know I shouldn't watch Fox News. It reminds me of how shallow so many people are to be taken in by attractive people delivering the news and flashy red white and blue graphics. It reminds me how ignorant people are, but all of our votes count the same. I just get mad and frustrated. But, I clicked a link to view a news story in Yahoo and ended up watching a clip from Fox news where they interviewed Joe Klein and talked about how Barack Obama is going to have to handle the "tough" questions before he gets to the easy stuff. To his credit, Klein dismissed the "tough" questions as completely irrelevant and total nonsense. But he still spent the time making his point that Obama has to address those questions about flag lapel pins, having a non-traditional name, referring to bitter voters as bitter, refusing to throw his pastor under the bus for saying things he disagreed with, etc.

First, Joe Klein is partly right. If Obama wants the ignorant vote, he does have to address their ignorant questions. But if the ignorant people asking questions about flag pins and watching Fox News are not going to vote for him at all, should he really have to lower the level of debate? There's a misconception that democracy means catering to the lowest possible denominator in the electorate. In reality, I'm hoping (not to use "his" word for his sake) that we can see democracy as an opportunity for people to elect a candidate that can teach us rather than just learn from us. We need someone who can lead people, not just follow them. Of course, by using this attitude as the sole criterion for a president, George Bush, proud to do things that are unpopular, would be super while Bill Clinton, famous for triangulating to the popular center on issues, would be awful. It's obvious, now, that Clinton did a good (not great) job and Bush Jr hasn't done much of a job at all. But let's embrace the leadership that Obama can offer. He'll need to pander now and then just like all politicians do. He'll need to play to one crowd one day and another crowd another day, just like all politicians do. But he does it less than either Clinton, and less than McCain. And so far, he's been able to dismiss Fox and their ignorant, irrelevant questions. On the issue of race, a legitimate issue, he delivered an entire speech on it (ironically, criticized as too long at the time by Fox, even though they're now accusing him of not taking up the issue at enough length).

My point is that we ought to first recognize that Barack Obama is making a concerted effort to discuss real issues at a time when we have numerous real issues to discuss. Hillary Clinton, out of political necessity, is going negative constantly, and not about legitimate issues, but by perpetuating the myth that he might be a Muslim and dismissing his victories by comparing him to Jesse Jackson. John McCain is talking about his childhood. Rather than insist that Obama answer the "tough" (read unimportant) questions, lets give him some credit for trying to avoid them. Please, let's hear more about health care, more about solidifying the foundations of our economy in relation to labor and lending, more about Iraq, more about foreign policy, more about nuclear proliferation, more about energy sources, more about environmental issues. Please, don't ask him to deal with flag pins and angry pastors. We don't have time for that! Doesn't it say something positive about Obama that the meaningless questions are referred to as "tough" for him? Perhaps the real questions are only tough for the media because they can't use them to shock viewers with a snapshot and a three second sound-bite.

So, after that trip, another clip was played dealing with Jeremiah Wright's decision to do a few interviews after his angry sermons have been in the news. The main point was that Wright is an America-hater, and that Obama can't get the vote of the America-lovers if he's associated with him. Several ignorant comments were made surrounding this idea. I must object. America has problems. Some of them have to do with race. To deny that they exist will not fix the problems. I would love to raise a drink to America. I love America's founding ideals of all men being created equal (even though, believe it or not, slavery was legal at the time of the declaration). I love the idea of a separation between church and state so that the state does not have the power of religious oppression to use against the people and the churches can deal with the questions and inspiration that they're best at. The idea makes the state better and the religions better, too. I embrace the broad idea of capitalism driving the economy. In this context, I am an America-loving patriot.

My loyalties, however, are to ideas and ideals, not to a country or an individual. When the United States still allowed slavery in 1859, it was the patriots who stood up to change that law, because it was against American values, and make the United States a better place. When the United States went to war against Hitler, the patriots supported that war because it was in line with our American values. While the United States is ignoring the genocide in Darfur, it is the patriots who are futilely demanding action. It is the patriots who are calling attention to America's faults so that we can fix them and keep America great. Standing idly by while the leaders of our nation sit by and watch our country deteriorate is not patriotism. Waving a flag, or wearing a lapel pin, or shouting "God Bless America" while our dollar shrinks in value, our soldiers die in Iraq (for very little purpose), our money both buys and subsidizes oil that we then burn and exhaust into our skies, etc. is not patriotism. Flags are not patriotism. They are symbols of our patriotism. We show our patriotism through our actions, not through the color of our jewelry. True patriotic Americans do not continue to support destructive actions simply because they are done in the name of America. True patriots are not loyal to "America" but to the ideals America is based upon. Patriotism isn't about what a country looks like; patriotism is about what a country IS.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with pointing out the things we find wrong with America. There is nothing more democratic. There is nothing more patriotic. It is the loyalty to the symbols rather than the realities that is the problem in this country. We should all get rid of our "God Bless America" bumper stickers and start educating ourselves so that we can bless and fix America ourselves.