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[S.F. Jude Terror]

Progressive Mag Editor Hates Fourth of July: Patriotism Leads to Fascism
Photo of Noel Sheppard.
By Noel Sheppard (Bio | Archive)
Mon, 07/05/2010 - 13:58 ET

Imagine being an American that hates the Fourth of July.

Seems impossible, right?

Apparently not for the editor of the uber-liberal magazine The Progressive proudly wrote Saturday, "It's July 4th, my least favorite holiday...You see, I don't believe in patriotism."

As amazing as it might seem, the 27-year-old Matthew Rothschild was just getting warmed up (h/t Weasel Zippers):

You can call me unpatriotic if you'd like, but really I'm anti-patriotic.

I've been studying fascism lately, and there is one inescapable fact about it:

Nationalism is the egg that hatches fascism.

And patriotism is but the father of nationalism.

Patriotism is not something to play with. It's highly toxic. When ingested, it corrodes the rational faculties. [...]

Plus, it's a war toy, wheeled out whenever a leader needs to improve his ratings by attacking some other country-often after invoking God's name, too. [...]

But as for me, between God, country, and apple pie, I'll take the apple pie.

Actually, Matt, why don't you take that apple pie to a country you can be proud to call your home, for if you so hate America that you can't enjoy the day of her birth, why stay?

Makes you wonder how many of The Progressive's readers share Rothschild's views - and how many liberals do as well.

More importantly, how many so-called journalists at major news outlets feel the same way?

Of course, as NewsBusters Jeff Poor noted Sunday, this is the same magazine that reprinted Howard Zinn's anti-American rant "Put Away the Flags" in its July issue.

I guess to liberals like these, nothing says Happy Independence Day like rotten tomatoes thrown at the birth of the greatest nation on the planet.

It explains a lot, doesn't it?

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-shepp ... z0srk1laFJ

Frag It, IMO.

[Eli Katz]

I was at the park yesterday and there was a big sign that said Democrats Welcome. And everyone did their patriotic duty and got drunk in the open air.

[BlueStreak]

I actually heard a variation of this yesterday.

One of my friend's girlfriends was bitching about how she hates flags being hung on people's front porches. She said it symbolizes American arrogance and a sense of superiority.

It was not easy to keep my mouth shut.

[Dragavon]

Please add a political tag to this. Thanks.

[S.F. Jude Terror]

Malveaux Hates Fourth of July - Reminds Her of Slavery and Economic Inequality
Photo of Noel Sheppard.
By Noel Sheppard (Bio | Archive)
Mon, 07/05/2010 - 17:24 ET

If you were African-American living in the era of President Barack Obama, would you hate the Fourth of July because it reminded you of slavery and economic inequality?

You would if your name was Julianne Malveaux and you were the syndicated columnist that also serves as the president of Bennett College, the historically black women's school in Greensboro, North Carolina.

So disdainful of America's most-revered national holiday is Malveaux that she admitted in her July 2 USA Today op-ed, "I have never been big on the Fourth of July. Most years, I took great pleasure in reading the powerful Frederick Douglass speech, 'The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro.'"

Though written in 1852, this college president actually sees relevance to modern day America in these words:

"What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July," he thundered to a crowd in Rochester, N.Y. "I answer, a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity ... your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery."

Imagine that. A black man is now the most powerful elected leader on the face of the planet. Another black man is the most powerful law enforcement official in the country, and under the previous administration, the Secretaries of State were black, one of them also being a woman.

Regardless, the president of a mostly black women's college sees nothing but racial injustice and economic inequality around her:

Our nation has come a long way since 1852, but for many African Americans, shouts of liberty are still hollow mockery. Unemployment is a scourge on all Americans, but the black unemployment rate, at 15.3% in May, is nearly twice the white rate. Every economic indicator - income, wealth, homeownership - screams inequality. [...]

Despite his scathing commentary, Douglass said, "I do not despair of this country." Nor do I. But progress has been so slowed, optimism so dimmed, and some criticisms of our president so blatantly racial that I'm returning to my ritual of reading Frederick Douglass, if only as a reminder that the struggle for justice and equality must continue.

So, in Malveaux's mind like so many of her ilk, equal opportunity isn't enough. Until all Americans possess the same things, the nation is unjust.

Which means this is not about equal opportunity but equal outcome, an inconvenient truth her kind refuses to admit as they shout "racist" at any white person more successful than them.

Of course, what should one expect from a serial-hater that in 1994 actually wished -- on national television -- for Clarence Thomas to die:

I guess for folks like Malveaux, racial and economic equality need only apply to black liberals.

Sadly, this is a racial hypocrisy quite common amongst so-called journalists today. Doesn't make sense, does it?

On the other hand, Malveaux has contributed to The Progressive, a magazine whose editor also hates the Fourth of July.

Like peas in a progressive pod.

Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-shepp ... z0srlfa7pv

[Rockman]

yeah this kind of talk is pretty annoying. I love this country, I (generally) love the people of this country. The creativity and ingenuity that we as a nation have expressed over the years is astounding. The fact that this db can even state his opinion is in fact pretty awesome.

That does not mean that I love the government or everything it does. There are times when the government acts against the wishes and interests of its population, and to me being patriotic is not about being a blind sheep, but know the difference between the population and people we have elected.

[S.F. Jude Terror]

yeah this kind of talk is pretty annoying. I love this country, I (generally) love the people of this country. The creativity and ingenuity that we as a nation have expressed over the years is astounding. The fact that this db can even state his opinion is in fact pretty awesome.

That does not mean that I love the government or everything it does. There are times when the government acts against the wishes and interests of its population, and to me being patriotic is not about being a blind sheep, but know the difference between the population and people we have elected.

Well...


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[Rockman]

Well...


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I always wonder how many people who really has to interview to get that amount of dumb people.

[BlueStreak]

I always wonder how many people who really has to interview to get that amount of dumb people.

He's based out of LA, right?

There's your answer.

[Rockman]

He's based out of LA, right?

There's your answer.

awesome.

[Jonathan]

I actually heard a variation of this yesterday.

One of my friend's girlfriends was bitching about how she hates flags being hung on people's front porches. She said it symbolizes American arrogance and a sense of superiority.

It was not easy to keep my mouth shut.

She's not wrong. Too much blind patriotism is the same as blind loyalty, which can turn into zealous fanaticism.

However, I bet that bitch doesn't feel the same way when it comes to her own birthday and her own feelings of arrogance and superiority (as most feel when a party is thrown in their honor, etc).

[Rockman]

She's not wrong. Too much blind patriotism is the same as blind loyalty, which can turn into zealous fanaticism.

However, I bet that bitch doesn't feel the same way when it comes to her own birthday and her own feelings of arrogance and superiority (as most feel when a party is thrown in their honor, etc).

I do not see how you can get that out of flying flags. I feel like flying a flag shows my own love for this country and also serves as a sign of respect for our soldiers over seas. Nothing about my country being better than Canada (it is though) or any other country for that matter.

Don't people fly flags on their yards in other countries.

[Thunderstorm]

I always wonder how many people who really has to interview to get that amount of dumb people.

They set up filming, and hang out for around an hour surrounded by people dying to look stupid on TV. I've seen it happen live several times.

Anyway, fuck this guy and that attitude.

[Rockman]

They set up filming, and hang out for around an hour surrounded by people dying to look stupid on TV. I've seen it happen live several times.

Anyway, fuck this guy and that attitude.

so you are saying that they are pretending to be stupid. Interesting, but I suppose if you saw Jay on the street you might realize that is what he is doing.

[john lewis hawk]

I never cared for the Fourth of July to be honest.