Patriots

Commentary by Mike Hogan

I heard someone say the other day “If you see someone wearing a hat or tee-shirt displaying the American flag, they are more likely than not going to vote Republican”. Huh. I hadn’t considered that before. So I did.

While it is impossible to prove his assertion, I can say that I share that bias. I realized that when I see someone with a flag on their hat or shirt, I immediately assume that the person is Conservative. So, then I wondered why that is.

It used to be that when we saw someone burning or otherwise disrespecting the American flag, those people were typically from some country where the U.S. is hated or feared. You know, places like Iran, Cuba, the U.S.S.R. and Iraq, among others. But now, whenever I see someone disrespecting the American flag, it’s typically someone who’s an American. And that person is typically a Liberal. It’s true, they have the right to desecrate the flag, but so do Conservatives. They just don’t do it.

There’s an old story about two twin boys, one was an optimist and the other was a pessimist. Their father wanted to teach them both a lesson so on their birthday, he gave the pessimist tons of nice presents. To the optimist, he gave a box of horse shit. As they opened their presents, the pessimist was complaining about the presents he received and how he deserved so much better. He’d open a gift, bitch and then toss it away. The optimist was gleefully digging through the box of shit with a huge smile on his face. His father asked, “How can you be so happy with that present?” The optimist exclaimed, “There’s got to be a pony in here somewhere!”

In my opinion, Conservatives are a patriotic bunch. They are also incredible optimists. In addition to proudly displaying the American flag, they talk about how great the country is, even with its faults. They express belief that America will get through the current turmoil, just as it has time and time again.

Liberals, on the other hand, tend to be pessimistic about the country. They are in favor of “tearing it down” and like to whine and complain about how they’re entitled to better. Instead of actually working for unity and equality, they throw around buzz words like “inclusiveness” and “diversity” which have the effect of increasing the division in the country.

Liberals should remember that living in the United States of America is an incredible gift given to us by the Founding Fathers and everyone who has died to protect it. That, in America, opportunity is available to all and with enough hard work and determination, anyone can succeed. Instead, they toss the gift aside and believe that someone owes them so much more.

I believe that America is the greatest country on earth. I also believe that we’re all in this together and that things will get better if we’re all pulling in the same direction. I guess that makes me a Conservative with the tee-shirt to prove it.

When I see all the crap that is currently happening across the country I try to remain optimistic and keep in mind that this too shall pass. And I look for the pony.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Citizens Journal

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