Show Jt Modern odem Patriotism in America Patriotism can be flawed and misguided Mark Young iw Contributing Writer Patriotism a loaded word to be sure meaning meaning meaning mean mean- ing many things to many people has been on my mind ever since I took notice of the new country radio station in town Utah needs another country radio stations like it needs another certified dessert The radio station in question has been given a symbolic symbolic sYmbolic sYm sYm- sym sym- bolic moniker The Eagle This is obviously obvious obvious- ly pandering to any possible audience of this particularly syrupy genre It is those who are typically given to these types of symbols as a way to identify feelings of patriotism this station is trying to lure in Disclaimer those who are not connoisseurs connoisseurs connoisseurs of the boot scoot genre can also be patriotic Having pride in ones one's country is not restricted to country music adorers Yet as many might observe a good amount do Some might call this a shameless attempt to pander to a certain ideal when it is popular pop- pop popular ular you may call it priced low-priced tion Curious nonetheless inasmuch as it t has come at a time when patriotism has been at its seemingly lowest point since before the attacks on the World Trade Center this Center this from a mere observational standpoint mind you j Today you might see the occasional car equipped with flags This pales compared 1 to the amount of flags seen in the subsequent subsequent subsequent quent months of the World Trade phe You ask Oh what Well in light r J c of recent attacks in Saudi Arabia we should r now have the same concern for terrorist attacks as in the months after the Attacks I J and protecting the homeland with the same fe fervor The a c or post-attack post patriotism often 1 seemed flawed and misguided Take a look t at those willing to take a stand While Bill Maher aher l lost st his job at CBS Ann Coulter a t ti v right wing pundit was reprimanded for words she wrote They have both b been en pigeonholed as unpatriotic Terrorism is amorphous as well as fluidly fluidly fluidly fluid- fluid ly structured a possible reason for the lead into the Iraq war Iraq was a solid enemy and also was connected with terrorism Many in America took the bait which was the possibility of two evils cohering as one and old what's his name Osama Mr Bin Bui Laden Nevertheless it was a lame connection which will surely cost us And its it's the people people peo peo- people who misplaced their offenses not the government because lets let's face it they had that war in mind prior to the attacks Still it was a need based on the desire to defend ourselves Many who questioned were called unpatriotic In the interim America is growing weary of war Evidence down since the attacks is George Bushs Bush's approval rating It was good while we were winning whining Now the men and women of the armed forces are open to attacks they've become the proverbial fish in a barrel Polls show doubt in replacing i an immediate threat with a gradual one Still we need patriotism now more then ever Apathy is only a tool of a successful i terrorist We need lose it in order to focus our energy on the real enemy Iraq was merely instant gratification cum slog gratification slog We need to understand what is going on inthe in inthe inthe the world with attacks still occurring in the world as a cause for concern Ambiguities are what our era has to deal with unfortunately unfortunately lately our enemies arent aren't as visible as the Third Reich It seems theres there's a reason it was called the Patriot ot Act Although a misguided attempt at It best sold to us like some sort of repellent repel repel- lent ent that will ward off terror tenor it is still the best test moniker for a reminder of the energy we ve need to heed the signs of the possibilities ties ies of another storm q |