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It's a high-flyin' rag

By Michael J. Smith on Tuesday November 25, 2008 10:24 PM

The dismal Chronicle of Higher Education, which a friend of mine reads ex officio, recently favored its subscribers with this bit of spew:

Progressive Patriotism
By WARREN GOLDSTEIN

It was Wednesday, the day after [the election], and I wanted the election news, so absorbing for so long, now wondrous, to keep coming and coming. Trying to squeeze every drop of meaning from the morning paper, making my Web-site rounds, I was listening to my local NPR station when the host asked, "Is there a new progressive patriotism in America?" Calls flooded in proclaiming a resounding Yes, and I began figuring out how to put an American flag on my front door....

The problem with spending a lifetime on the outs is the damage it does to one's own psyche. The self-protection piles up over the years, and repression doesn't always work Emotion escapes into shrill and nasty humor, which reveals more about the "humorist" than it does about the object. Look, I've needed The Daily Show With Jon Stewart as much as anyone over the past half-dozen years, but seriously: Jeering at one's government is a little like making fun of your own family. It makes for good laughs at dinner parties, but the subject is, after all, your family — where you came from.

Came from? Not quite far enough, Warren. Plod on a quarter-mile or so, and the sky clears amazingly.

Comments (9)

Daay-am, but that is one steamin' heap o'weak-assed spew. That's about as weak as it can get and still technically be considered "spew" under the Pure Food And Spew Act.

By "patriotism", does Goldstein mean what is, basically, high-school football for grown-ups? Progressive...patriotism? I have this horrid vision of Peace is Patriotic stickers on the backs of Priuses (Priii?) and Volvos. Sorry, but I've always been in favor of Peace because it requires you to renounce "patriotism"... didn't it? Oh, and what's that other one they like: THINK: It's Patriotic. Bullshit, it is. Real critical thinking goes against the whole idea of "patriotism". Who the hell writes these bumper-sticker slogans for these goddamn' Pwogwessives, anyway?

Progressive Patriotism.
Military Intelligence.
Airline Food.

LA Confidential Pantload:

Where I came from? WTF? So I'm some government-hatched homunculus after all? Or am I Pinocchio to Barack's Geppetto? Damn - that thing is too stupid to even appear in a blog, let alone a publication that allegedly caters to adults.

AlanSmithee:

What is this guy? An orphan? Was he raised in the wild by bureaucrats?

The progressive fascist alliance is not new. They have long manned the barricades at NPR and PBS.

Son of Uncle Sam:


He needs therapy for his damaged psyche. What about Uncle Sam's psyche? WG walked into his store and left with nothing but Uncles business card for near half a century, and some how Warren's feelings are hurt!

Boohoo, Goldie, get back on your bar stool and kick the tires a little longer, it's a big decision. I mean is it really hip to be square? Can you eat your cake and have it too?

Put an American flag on your front door and tell everyone it's your wife's. Or better yet tell people your thirteen year old son is going through a rebellious stage.

Don't like that one? May I suggest teaming up the stars and bars w/ the rainbow. Perhaps, a turkey or Menorah to be festive. Or even one w/ the Starship Enterprise for being such a nerd. As long as it dosn't say Navy Seals, USMC, or We Will Never Forget, your safe, and no one will ever think you were one of the many who believes due to actual service or really giving a shit. It'll just be something that diverts passerbys eyes from your recycling bin and you'll be free to ponder other issues, like how terrifying the death of your thanksgiving turkey (or tofurkry that's really gag worthy) must've been.

It gets worse. This dude is a "professional" historian!

"Warren Goldstein teaches U.S. history and chairs the History Department at the University of Hartford. He is the author of Playing for Keeps: A History of Early Baseball and (with Elliott Gorn) A Brief History of American Sports, as well as the biography William Sloane Coffin, Jr.: A Holy Impatience, and (with Christopher Gabrieli) the forthcoming Time to Learn: How a New School Schedule is Making Smarter Kids, Happier Parents, and Safer Neighborhoods."

It never ceases to amaze how academia has been filled with broken light-bulbs...

Almost without exception, these grant-seekers and flea-fuckers couldn't pass a genuine exam in their freaking "areas of specialization."

op:

"The progressive fascist alliance is not new"
i take little
nourishment from that declarative brother taber

Son of Uncle Sam:

"It never ceases to amaze how academia has been filled with broken light bulbs..."

Right on Capt D, you could say he's the gas that won't ever glow.

But Jon Stewart IS lousy. Stopped clock twice a day blah blah blah.

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The previous post in this blog was Stimulus -- or stimunculus? Part Deux.

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