Americans have little to cheer about or believe in these days. The list of reasons to have lost faith in our republic is inordinately long and spectacularly depressing. Whether it's the incomprehensible incompetence of the government's response to Katrina, contentious elections rendering dubious results, complete disregard for the Constitution and the rule of law, the denigration of the environment, the use of torture on "enemy combatants" (whatever that means), the exponential increase of wealth disparity, steroids in baseball, "Spygate" in football or the quicksand quagmire that is Iraq - the American people have good reason to be despondent.
It's hardly surprising that Americans' confidence in America isn't what it used to be. The institutions and traditions that have been ingrained into the national consciousness as exemplars of American exceptionalism have, in recent years, crumbled under the weight of corruption, greed and selfishness.
From the fraud of Enron and WorldCom, to the excesses of Exxon, to the disgrace of Abu Ghraib, it seems that scandal and ineptitude have eclipsed what used to be called "American values."
The virtues of justice, equality and adherence to a higher moral imperative have been severely undermined. The ideals that made us, in the words of Ronald Reagan, the "shining city upon a hill," have been decimated by unnecessary fear, endless war and anachronistic imperialism. The staples of what used to be the United States of America have been purged with near-perfect precision.
We now venerate the culture of bling and misogyny, unrealistic "reality" television and the complete breakdown of civil political discourse in what has become the celebrity-fixation nation. But if you dare question American "greatness," your patriotism will be questioned next.
Last week, the spouse of a presidential contender said something substantive, thought-provoking and unfortunately, controversial. Michelle Obama, wife of Sen. Barack Obama, said that "for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country."
Conservative commentators went ballistic. In an all-too-familiar refrain, the possible future first lady of the United States was subjected to the corrosive politics of personal attacks that have replaced reasoned debate in this country. Documented sexual deviant Bill O'Reilly was among the most vicious, telling his intellectually impaired audience that he didn't "want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there's evidence." How prudent of him.
This isn't the first time conservatives have questioned someone's patriotism because he or she has dared to question American purity or has deviated from the simple-minded "love it or leave it" script. This odious practice has been employed with increasing frequency over the past several years.
It can no longer be tolerated. Obama himself has been the target of the smarmy conservative smear-machine. Some months ago he was censured for explaining that he didn't wear a flag lapel pin anymore because it had become "a substitute for, I think, true patriotism."
True patriotism.
Now there's a concept. True patriotism isn't blindly following presidential decree, and it isn't wearing a miniature version of the stars and stripes. True patriotism is found in the continuous questioning of everything insidious and insane about the current trajectory of this country. One can love the U.S. and still voice disapproval when we fail to do the right thing or live up to the ideals the nation was founded on.
Joshua Fredrickson is a political science senior. His column appears Wednesdays.
