I literally disagree with nearly everything this dude ha to say. He's clearly never heard a shot fired in anger, and is likely to only ever hear ONE shot fired in anger- the one that drops him when he tries to bring that insanity to fruition. Whenever someone mentions the word "patriotism", it sets my spidey sense to tingling - they're probably going to try to talk you into some dumb shot and try to sugar-coat it with "patriotism" to make it more palatable.
FBI agent provocateurs make heavy use of the word "patriotism" in their entrapment schemes. Just ask those "patriots" in Michigan that were supposed to kidnap Whitmer.
I agree with Samuel Johnson, in that in most cases of it's use, "patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel". It's used when all else fails to get some good ol' boys fired up enough to do dumb shit. I'm a good ol' boy, too, but they're not going to get my fuse lit by appealing to concepts that I no longer believe in at all... or, more accurately, concepts that I think mean something different to each person it's used against.
The phrase currently being used against the political Left with the same aim - to get them fired up enough to "buss a cap in yo ass" is "our democracy". That's their version of "patriotism", the set of words meant to fire them up like a bell to Pavlov's Dogs.
ETA: For further clarification, patriotism, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. That means there is no such thing as an objective patriotism. When someone appeals to your patriotism, they are not really interested in YOUR patriotism, they are interested in bringing you under the umbrella of THEIR version of patriotism - the one where they issue the orders, and you follow them. If you want to know who aspires to be your Overlord, just watch and see who is appealing to your patriotism. They are the ones who want to run your world.
Some of the most unspeakable acts on record were done in the name of patriotism - the excesses of Nazi Germany, Castro's Cuba, Lenin's Russia and later Stalin's Russia, Mao's China, Pol Pot's Cambodia, Robespierre's France, and many, many more examples all started with an appeal to patriotism.
I'm reminded of the scene in "Last of the Mohicans" where the British officer declares "You call yourself a Patriot, and loyal subject of the Crown?". The protagonist gives the only sane answer possible under the circumstances, one which gives the lie to the officer's appeal to his patriotism "I don't call myself much of nothin' at all", a polite way of saying "shove your 'patriotism', I'll do me, and you can do you. You don't get to define my patriotism".
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FBI agent provocateurs make heavy use of the word "patriotism" in their entrapment schemes. Just ask those "patriots" in Michigan that were supposed to kidnap Whitmer.
I agree with Samuel Johnson, in that in most cases of it's use, "patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel". It's used when all else fails to get some good ol' boys fired up enough to do dumb shit. I'm a good ol' boy, too, but they're not going to get my fuse lit by appealing to concepts that I no longer believe in at all... or, more accurately, concepts that I think mean something different to each person it's used against.
The phrase currently being used against the political Left with the same aim - to get them fired up enough to "buss a cap in yo ass" is "our democracy". That's their version of "patriotism", the set of words meant to fire them up like a bell to Pavlov's Dogs.
ETA: For further clarification, patriotism, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. That means there is no such thing as an objective patriotism. When someone appeals to your patriotism, they are not really interested in YOUR patriotism, they are interested in bringing you under the umbrella of THEIR version of patriotism - the one where they issue the orders, and you follow them. If you want to know who aspires to be your Overlord, just watch and see who is appealing to your patriotism. They are the ones who want to run your world.
Some of the most unspeakable acts on record were done in the name of patriotism - the excesses of Nazi Germany, Castro's Cuba, Lenin's Russia and later Stalin's Russia, Mao's China, Pol Pot's Cambodia, Robespierre's France, and many, many more examples all started with an appeal to patriotism.
I'm reminded of the scene in "Last of the Mohicans" where the British officer declares "You call yourself a Patriot, and loyal subject of the Crown?". The protagonist gives the only sane answer possible under the circumstances, one which gives the lie to the officer's appeal to his patriotism "I don't call myself much of nothin' at all", a polite way of saying "shove your 'patriotism', I'll do me, and you can do you. You don't get to define my patriotism".
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