True patriotism

The other day I had a conversation with a Donald Trump fan, who not only denied that her candidate’s bigotry was an issue, she also claimed that voting for Trump was the patriotic thing to do. With that in mind, here’s my 4th of July patriotic rant:
The word “patriotism” has been co-opted and distorted by the Republican Party to the point that I seldom use it anymore. For me, patriotism doesn’t mean blind allegiance to your country—especially when it comes to supporting non-defensive wars, torture, or other unethical endeavors. Instead, it means recognizing that your country is imperfect and working to make it better.
Ironically, today’s Republicans are the antithesis of patriotic, as they are ignoring the Constitution and refusing to hold hearings to fill the Supreme Court vacancy (leaving the court with multiple 4-4 ties); they have attempted to undermine presidential negotiations with other countries (remember the Paris agreement and the Republican senators’ letter to Iran); and they’ve put party-before-country to oppose almost everything President Obama supports (even if they originally supported the concept).
Additionally, Republicans George W. Bush and Dick Cheney put US soldiers at risk, with their torture program, and now Donald Trump has promised to bring it back and make it even more barbaric than it was before. How unpatriotic is that? What enemy would have second thoughts about torturing US soldiers when the United States is torturing theirs?
So if you are a Donald Trump supporter, don’t talk to me about patriotism! Patriotism doesn’t mean a cult-like allegiance to a Republican president, followed by obstructionist disdain for a Democratic president, and then more hand-over-your-heart adulation for the next Republican president.
Patriotism isn’t about who has the biggest flag pin or who gives the loudest thanks to our troops. It’s about standing up for your country when it’s in the right and shouting out to your country when it’s in the wrong—all without regard to which political party holds the presidency at the time.
Marty Essen
Victor