A great, great essay in Time by the ex-TNR editor. My favorite part is the end:
So is wearing the flag pin good or bad? It is both; it all depends on where and why. If you're going to a Young Americans for Freedom meeting, where people think patriotism means "my country right or wrong," leave it at home and tell them about Frederick Douglass, who wouldn't celebrate the Fourth of July while his fellow Americans were in bondage. And if you're going to a meeting of the cultural-studies department at Left-Wing U., where patriotism often means "my country wrong and wronger," slap it on, and tell them about Mike Christian, who lay half-dead in a North Vietnamese jail, stitching an American flag.Beinart totally just blew his chance at an honorary degree from Left Wing U. Posted by Stephen Silver at July 2, 2008 09:04 PMAnd if anyone gives you a hard time, tell him he doesn't know what true patriotism is.
"Left Wing U.," or as it's known to the rest of the world, Brandeis.
Posted by: LilB at July 3, 2008 06:16 PM