Originally Posted by crosvs

... to continue my discussion from http://www.xoutpost.com/lounge/25962-out-curiosity-why-our-news-sooooooo-local-3.html:



As my best friend always says when he criticizes me, "hey, it's just part of my job description." In other words, if he, as my best friend, didn't point out my flaws ... then who would?!

In other words, as Americans, we have a DUTY to criticize our government and its policies -- NOT blindly follow it and just assume/pretend that it's good and right just out of blind national pride. Any chimpanzee can do that. I'd like to believe we are a little more intelligent than that.

As my Dad -- who's 100% American -- always says, "it is precisely BECAUSE I'm a proud American, BECAUSE I'm so patriotic, that I so strongly voice my crticisms of our present regime."

Put another way: suppose a Frenchman; and Italian; a Russian; a Brazilian; or anyone else NOT American, were to criticize our heretofore wonderful country. OBVIOUSLY we can VERY EASILY shut them up MERELY on the grounds that they are not American, e.g., what right do THEY have to criticize our land?

That then leaves ONLY AMERICANS to criticize the wrongs of our government. Thus, if WE do not do so ... then ... WHO WOULD?!

Indeed: I submit that *NOT* vehemently criticizing our governemnt is in fact the ANTITHESIS of true patriotism; vocal outcries of disapproval then ARE the most fundamental elements of a true patriot as it shows concern rather than blind following.

But as B-Line frighteningly suggests in the aforementioned thread, or as YellowJacket explictly states a few msgs above, if being American means only loving local news; explosions; deaths; and natural disasters; and if being American means never criticizing our government when it is clearly at fault ... then wow, y'all can keep your NASCAR.

But I for one am proud to be of this country, if only because we CAN speak up and voice our disapprovals, as opposed to the modernly corrupt Islamic regimes in Iran, for instance, where this very essence of nationalism is mutable by death -- an Islamic extremist corruption of what once was a beautiful and democratic society.