Courtesy of Bastrop Advertiser
June 3, 2021
By Bill McCann
Watching a beer commercial on TV last week reminded me that fake patriotism knows no boundaries. The commercial advertised a popular beer in new red, white and blue cans in stores in time for our patriotic holidays — Memorial Day and Fourth of July.
I have no quarrel with a business peddling patriotic beer to Americans, even though its parent company is based in Belgium. After all, the business provides thousands of jobs in the USA. My real quarrel is with those who claim to love this country but don’t respect the core values our patriotism represents, including freedom of speech, the right to vote and holding leaders accountable.
Patriotism isn’t merely displaying the flag on a holiday. Real patriots seek and respect the truth, even when it doesn’t fit their political beliefs. Patriotism isn’t favoring free speech as long as you are the only one speaking. It isn’t purposely spreading lies on social media. It isn’t refusing to wear a mask because you claim the right to personal freedom, then denouncing a mask wearer who chooses to protect others.
Fake patriotism sells. Republicans know it because for decades they have been wrapping themselves in the flag and claiming they are the true patriots. The problem is they often don’t practice what they preach. Recent events confirm that. For example:
- You might be a fake patriot if you support former President Donald Trump’s big lie that he won the 2020 election. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 53% of Republicans believe the lie, as Trump and his supporters keep pushing outrageous conspiracy theories about voter fraud. Local and state Republican election officials certified that Joe Biden won the needed swing states. Court after court, including judges appointed by Trump, confirmed the election’s legitimacy. By continuing to raise doubts among the public about the election’s legitimacy, Trump and his fellow fake patriots are doing serious damage to our nation’s electoral system and to our democracy.
- You might be a fake patriot if you support Republican legislation proposed or passed in most states, including in Texas, to make it harder for many people to vote. Under the guise of preserving “election integrity,” the legislation would particularly affect people of color. What Republicans really want to preserve is their jobs because most people of color vote for Democrats.
- You probably are a fake patriot if you continue to believe the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection was justified or was carried out by “antifa” leftists or was simply a bunch of tourists – as one member of Congress suggested. Or you believe that Trump and some congressional supporters did not help foment the insurrection. Right-wingers in Congress and on Fox News immediately blamed antifa, although even rioters have said antifa wasn’t involved, according to National Public Radio. Why would leftists disrupt certification of an election that their guy won? Federal prosecutors have charged more than 400 persons so far with participating in the insurrection, including assault on police, theft, weapons possession and conspiracy, the Washington Post reported. Some of those arrested defended their actions by saying they invaded the Capitol because Trump asked them to.
- You probably are a fake patriot if you got angry when athletes knelt during the playing of our national anthem in protest of police brutality against Black Americans. But you were OK with white pro-Trump rioters using American flags as weapons against police during the Capitol riot. Or you sympathized with White rioters waving the Confederate battle flag inside the Capitol as if that flag were a symbol of patriotism instead of racism.
It’s way past time to rescue the USA from fake patriots. They can have the beer.
McCann is a contributing columnist for the Advertiser. He is a retired journalist and may be reached at [email protected].
