That lapel pin controversy got me hopping mad. I agree with Obama - don't show me a pin, show me what you're going to do!
To some degree, it's the media. Focusing on superficialities in general. Making things into issues that really shouldn't be, for whatever reason. Maybe because they don't have anything better to talk about, or because they don't know how to talk about more important things, or because they're afraid that if they do, they'll bore people and lose viewers.
Yes, a lot of it is the media, but I can't get upset with them for showing things that get people watching. Because politics can certainly be boring, and the networks are in the business to make money. It's up to the people watching to take in that information with discernment, and it's sad that more people don't.
People actually do care about these things. They hear about it enough, and it sways them. They listen, and they accept what they're told without taking the time to really think about it or look into it any further.
I don't know that they
care, exactly - that implies that they took the subject to heart. I think it's more a case of people relying on the headlines of whatever news channel is showing over the bar in their favorite restaurant. And, just like you said, they listen and accept without question.
The end result is people think like one of my best girlfriends - when I asked her what she thought of Obama, her reply was that she could never vote for a man who was educated at an Al-Queda elementary school. After staring at her in shock for ten solid seconds thinking, 'are you kidding me?', I had to spend several minutes re-educating her. (Gently, because I do love her, but damn, girl!)
And the kicker is that politics can be interesting if you bring it down to a one-on-one level. Everybody cares about
something - and if they can find the candidate that supports that, then they'll be interested. But the process as a whole can seem very daunting and people don't know where to begin looking for that information, so they just give up and vote however their parent or spouse or boss is voting. I know because I've done it myself.
Why is patriotism something to be incredibly proud of in the US (and any hint of being unpatriotic almost a hanging offence ) while in some other countries it's almost a dirty word?
I can't address the second part of your question, having never lived in another country. But as for US patriotism, I do have an opinion and a comment:
The opinion: I am patriotic, but for me that emotion has zero to do with the current policies of the nation. I am patriotic because of the ideals that the United States was founded upon. When I fly our flag, I am supporting the Declaration on Independence and the Constitution. I have no qualms about saying, "I love America, but I have major problems with the Bush administration." I realize that's a fine line. In fact, some people may say the line doesn't exist at all - you either love your country or you don't. But there are shades of gray in patriotism just like in everything else.
The comment: lack of patriotism is a hanging offense
in the media. And since we learn about our politicians through that outlet, most of them fall into line because they don't want to be figuratively disemboweled on Fox News. But in real life, there are lots of people who patriotic in the same way I am or who aren't patriotic at all. And for the most part, as long as they can talk about their opinions in rational way and don't start hatching plans to blow things up, they aren't looked on as outcasts or nutcases.
I have heard that kind of statement - the greatest country in the world - many, many times.
I'm sure I've heard this myself, but I'm struggling to remember under what circumstances. I've got a Norman Rockwell type image in my head of a teacher teaching that to a row of bright faced kids. And that might be it - maybe it's just a matter of being told again and again as children that we're lucky to live in a free country. Also, Americans in general aren't very worldly. Only about 20% of us have passports, so it's not like a lot of our citizens have been to other countries to see what it's like for themselves. And to top it off, a scary percentage of people are more interested Britney Spears than world affairs, and when they do watch the news, there's constant talk of illegal immigrants - people who want to be here so badly that they broke the law to accomplish it. So when you're told over and over that we're great, you don't know anything about the rest of the world and you see that people are fighting to come here, assuming that America is the Best Country Ever is a natural conclusion.
