THOUGHTS ON PATRIOTISM, from
Jonah Goldberg:
"In part because liberal commentators have such a hard time grasping why patriotism should be an issue at all, and the GOP is so clumsy explaining why it's important, the debate often gets boiled down to symbols. . . . Definitions of patriotism proliferate, but in the American context patriotism must involve not only devotion to American texts (something that distinguishes our patriotism from European nationalism) but also an abiding belief in the inherent and enduring goodness of the American nation. We might need to change this or that policy or law, fix this or that problem, but at the end of the day the patriotic American believes that America is fundamentally good as it is."
Muslims have complained over a police advert featuring a puppy sitting in an officer's hat. A police force has apologised to Islamic leaders for the "offensive" postcard advertising a new non-emergency telephone number, which shows a six-month-old trainee police dog named Rebel. The German shepherd puppy has proved hugely popular with the public, hundreds of who have logged on to the force's website to read his online training diary. But some Muslims in the Dundee area have reportedly been upset by the image because they consider dogs to be "ritually unclean."
Sadly, you don't have to. It's amazing what a combination of PC multi-culti guilt and a credible threat of violence will get you, though I'm guessing that it's mostly the credible threat of violence that's doing the work here. Nice incentive structure they're setting up.
I'LL BE ON HUGH HEWITT'S SHOW WITH MICKEY KAUS in a minute, talking about
this story.
Key bit: "No one should have to live like this, and no one did anything about it." Kaus's take is
here.
Thanks for the link to the Chevrolet Malibu blog entry. My very first car was a 1976 Chevrolet Malibu Classic - I inherited it from my mom in 1981. I loved that car. It was silver with a hideous red interior and I called it "The Beast". It was heavy & bulky but had an amazing engine and therefore lots of power. Guys loved it - but I'm sure that had nothing to do with my fondness for it. And, it kept me very safe - I had a few fender benders when I first started driving and The Beast never got a scratch, but did some serious damage to some, um, smaller cars. Oops. I drove it until my sophomore year in college. I still miss that car. Thanks for the memories!
