This was on my blog, Progressive Common Sense, at commonsensepost.blogspot.com:
One thing that really pisses me off is when people who have screwed this country the most say others are not patriotic. The right-wing has lately been attacking Obama on him not showing "proper" patriotism. Which really means that Obama is not a flag-waving, jingoistic, irrational idiot who blindly follows the ass in the oval office right now. There's 4 reasons that right-wingers use this argument: 1) His name is DIFFERENT. 2) His wife spoke about her feelings on today's politics. 3) He didn't have his hand on his heart in one picture. 4) He doesn't wear a lapel pin.

Firstly, it's illogical, xenophobic, and just plain racist to fear someone because of his NAME. They forget the fact that he's an American who has spent most of his life in this country and has been a public servant for nearly two decades. Those smear e-mails are simply not based on fact and completely unprovable (there's also another e-mail saying that Obama is the anti-christ. That allegation is so stupid, I'm not even going to address it). By the way, would it really matter if he was a Muslim? Or are we all so ignorant that we believe that every Muslim is a terrorist?

Secondly, there's the issue about whether Michelle Obama is a radical flag-waving nationalist. About a month ago, Mrs. Obama said, "for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback." See, if you look at those silly unreliable things called FACTS, you'll see that in context, she was talking about the political process. Conservatives starting crying that Obama doesn't love America, because of course, the USA is always right about everything. Again, thinking logically, why the hell is this an issue? Will making this quote a big deal solve all the problems this nation is facing? Will it give millions of people health care, or end the war, or help the environment, or guarantee freedom and justice for all in this country and around the world?

Thirdly, there's the issue about a picture. It shows Obama, Clinton, and Bill Richardson at a campaign event last year during the national anthem. Obama is the only one without his hand over his heart. Right-wingers claimed that he's not showing "proper patriotism" for someone who wants to lead this nation. That would mean that most people in sports games, in schools, and around the nation would also not be truly patriotic. It's sad, that this issue had to lead to Obama trying to prove that he was a real patriot.

Finally, there's the lapel pin crap. I'll just repeat what I said back in October: That's right, people actually attacked him for not wearing a flag pin! Now I'm going to be very blunt here. That fact is that after 9/11, we've being acting ridiculous. Nationalism leads to citizens and the media refusing to ask questions, and agreeing to every action taken by the government. This then leads to any person with a different point of view to be attacked and said to be with the enemy (remember the Dems in the 2002 or 2004 elections?). Anyway, while that radical patriotism has died down, you still have those who still act like idiots. Lets be rational here, if you don't wear a "Live Strong" wristband, that does mean your FOR CANCER!? Or if you don't wear a flag pin, does that mean you hate the USA?! And instead of putting a yellow ribbon in front of your house and saying,"See, I support the troops!", why don't those people actually FIGHT the war, or really help the soldiers in other ways. We should worry more about actually helping and fixing this nation then wearing pins and ribbons. Voting and fighting for what you believe in is real patriotism. Not sitting at home with a yellow ribbon and wrapped in an American flag while watching Fox News.