Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama gave a speech all about patriotism today. You can read it here.
My reaction: Who cares? Can we talk about something relevant?
Obama says at the outset that the topic of patriotism “is worth considering…because the question of who is – or is not – a patriot all too often poisons our political debates, in ways that divide us rather than bringing us together.” So, I take that to mean his audience is those who question his patriotism. Is that really a large percentage of the population? Because I thought the only ones questioning his patriotism were those who believed anything and everything forwarded to them via e-mail — you know, those phony Internet rumors that he’s a Muslim, that he took his oath of office on the Koran, that he doesn’t say the Pledge of Allegiance, etc. Are those people likely to hear this speech, let alone believe it? And other than those people, who’s questioning his patriotism?
All I know is, I’d rather hear some substantive debates between the two candidates on the issues facing our country — in fact, some of the issues that Obama brought up himself at the beginning of the speech:
…health care, jobs, energy, education, and retirement security… [and] values. How do we keep ourselves safe and secure while preserving our liberties? How do we restore trust in a government that seems increasingly removed from its people and dominated by special interests? How do we ensure that in an increasingly global economy, the winners maintain allegiance to the less fortunate? And how do we resolve our differences at a time of increasing diversity?
A debate on any of those subjects would be welcome. This election isn’t a contest over who’s more patriotic, so let’s skip the rhetorical, platitude-filled speeches and get down to the nitty-gritty. That would be much more interesting and useful.
