What is a Republican V: Pride

Nobody’s perfect. But Americans have good reason to be proud of their country. Our nation provides a goodly, even a unique, portion of wealth, fairness and rule of law to its 300 million+ people, leads the world in business and technical innovation, and generously supports freedom, security and democracy around the world. Historically we have been a beacon of freedom and individual rights.

Yes we have sinned too. Slavery was bad, Jim Crow was bad, Native Americans have often been treated unfairly and Vietnam turned out to be a bad idea. We have made a lot of progress in the last century with respect to fairness to all races (and both genders). But to throw away the baby with the bathwater -- to believe that America is bad because of its shortcomings -- is foolish and demonstrates a complete lack of perspective on both history and contemporary comparative government.

Democrats do not agree. Let’s not quibble. You know and I know that every person you have met who has gone into a long and sanctimonious tirade about how awful America is has been a Liberal Democrat. Am I wrong? Every Spartacus Youth League, Howard Zinn-quoting oddball who continually disparages the United States is a Liberal Democrat. Everyone who gets uncomfortable with saluting the flag or with any show of patriotism is a hyper-sophisticated Liberal Democrat, and everyone who has burned an American flag has been a Liberal Democrat. Michelle Obama said it when her husband was nominated for President of the United States: “For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm proud of my country.” This was not by any means an exceptional view, or a flub. It is the common perspective of the Democratic party.

It seems intellectually clever, like you’re the smart, wised up kid in class, to excoriate the United States. But it is ignorant and childish. Anyone who is being intellectually honest should agree that the United States is a force for good and that we have much to be proud of. It is easy for the Democrats to find a candidate who can claim to be patriotic and who perhaps even is patriotic. But we should bear in mind that when we elect a candidate they bring all of their cronies and fellow travelers with them to populate the bureaucracy and the courts. And when we populate our bureaucracy and courts with people who are fundamentally skeptical of the United States, its uniqueness and its quality, we take risks we should not be taking.