A Love of America Turned Ugly [Photo Essay]

[HAL 9000 96]

The word patriotism has been sort of hijacked to describe actions that are nationalistic. Its not a dirty word in itself, its just been misused.

it's also been hijacked and turned into a derogatory term........

Very true. Neither patriotism nor nationalism are supposed to be 1. fanatical nor 2. derogatory, yet when fanatics get a hold of such terminology it becomes an issue of us-versus-them in a contest of whom is most patriotic and conversely, whom is most anti-patriotic by going "against" what is indoctrinated.

[Lizzy 0]

Gary no offence but you post loads of ####### all the time.

ROFLMAO

[pedroh 21]

http://alternet.org/story/63710/

Christopher Morris has been covering George Bush as TIME Magazine's White House photographer for the last seven years. Morris recently published My America, a book of photographs that affords us a complex and quietly creepy look inside the Bush bubble.

Christopher Morris: In the Name of God the Flag and Bush Almighty. This is my America, my New Republic. If the hijackers on September 11 accomplished anything, this is it. They have given us the divine Bush. A man who has said, "you're either with us or against us." A man who teaches our children that "they hate us because we love freedom".

This is my America. An America with Homeland Security, a Patriot Act. An America with paranoia. An America with hatred and ignorance. An America that wraps itself in its President and its flag. This is my America.

Now when I see the eagle of freedom, I see an eagle of fascism. Now when I see the American flag, I'm afraid for my America. We have become an ugly nation. A nation that has wrapped its eyes so tightly in red, white and blue that it has gone blind. Blinded by nationalism. This is my America. And this is why they hate us, and its not because we love freedom. They hate us because we think like that.

let's see, that happened, that happened.. where's the slander there..

[Sister Fracas 5]

Can you all leave the personal stuff at the door and just argue the politics? I rarely see a discussion of candidates' policies but see a large number of generic party attacks, along with a few character assassinations. That's fine and nothing I can say will change that. But Quit baiting the people here and talk about the issues. You'll be surprised how the temperature cools in the discussions.

[FVA 0]

Bill Hicks on patriotism