Why Liberals Love America

Written by: john nelson on Sep 7, 2007 10:14 PM EDT

I am so sick and tired of conservatives wrapping themselves in the flag and proclaiming that they are the only great Americans and true patriots. In my lifetime they have been doing this since Nixon and Agnew in the late sixties. They have a common refrain that liberals hate America and the conservatives proclaim it with an ongoing drumbeat that I am afraid is seaping into some people's subconscience. They are on the offense and we are on the defense.

I think it's long past due that we go on the offense and give them back some of their own medicine. Conservatives seem to think that the only true Americans are people who are just like them and agree with them on virtually everything and march in lockstep with them. Anyone else, especially liberals hate America.

Sorry conservatives but you are wrong! Dissent is central to the story of American democracy. Actually dissent is a driving force behind democracy. Using dissent, public opinion has been swayed, laws were made, slavery was abolished, unions were organized, women got the vote, Jim Crow laws were invalidated. Over the years, dissent has given America hope and made it a better place to live.

With that in mind, I have some thoughts to share:

Liberals love America because they dissent to make it all the better. Conservatives must hate America, because they hate dissent.

Liberals love America because we care that nearly 4,000 of our best and brightest have been killed in a civil war; not to mention the hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians who have died. Conservatives must hate America because they support putting and keeping our troops in harms way. They approve of longer deployments that have brought the military to a breaking point and military families scars that will never heal.

Liberals love America because we care enough to take action about global warming. Conservatives must hate America because they ignore global warming, in the name of profits.

 Liberals love America because we want a world class health system for all. Conservatives must hate America because they think we have the best health care system in the world, despite the fact that millions of Americans can not afford to use it.

Liberals love America because we want world class public schools. Conservatives must hate America because they hate public schools.

Liberals love America because we fight for and protect our rights proclaimed in the Constitution. Conservatives must hate America because they want to disband many of those rights. 

Liberals love America because we want America to be the best it can be for everyone throughout the world. Not a bully who says "be like us or we'll attack you," but a towering beacon throughout the world that most nations respect and admire.      

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