John Kerry, Max Cleland and Hollywood liberals too numerous to mention, all whine about their patriotism being questioned when their foreign policy views are questioned. How dare we! They support our troops, you know.
So, today, my patriotism has been questioned by an act I do every single day. What have I done? Fly to Hanoi? Met privately with Saddam Hussein? Approved of the murders and mutilations of workers in Iraq? Burned the American flag? Oh no, my friends. My offense is much worse. I drive an SUV.
In Madison's Capital Times (my name: Communist Times), Margaret Krome says:
Every horror story I read about people killed in the fight in Iraq raises questions in my mind about more than terrorism and the quality of information informing our military actions. It also illustrates the great cost of our nation's dependence on a resource that is overwhelmingly obtained from other countries. And because it is a national security issue, conservation of that resource should become a national security issue also.The next time you see an SUV with an American flag waving from its antenna, think of the worst blonde joke you've ever heard. The driver of that SUV deserves a louder snicker than the dopiest blonde for waving a patriotic flag but driving the most anti-social and unpatriotic kind of vehicle on the road.
The war in Iraq is not about oil. The people that believe that have collective amnesia. They think that by pretending 9/11 didn't happen that they don't have to do anything to prevent it from happening again. We're at war and war is rotten business. Some folks don't have the stomach for it (I was going to write "and we call them the French" but that's just too easy, isn't it).
I can paint of picture of what Ms. Krome really hates and wants to snicker at. It's not terrorists or depletion of resources. It's a bearded man in a camouflage vest or blaze orange jacket. He probably owns a gun or two and listens to country music and watches NASCAR. He drinks beer and eats meat not because he's on the Atkins diet, but because it's what's for dinner. The flag on his truck or SUV is simply a symbol that offends her coastal sensibilities. It's a reminder that's she's in the middle of "redneck" country. And I'd be willing to wager that that scares her to death.
More than anything, the 2004 election will come down to a cultural battle between the Ms. Kromes and the flag-waving SUV drivers.
I've been on the road a lot and I've seen a whole lot of trucks out there.
Posted by kris at April 14, 2004 08:36 PM | TrackBack