When I was in boot camp, we would have classes—weapon’s training, etc.—in the second floor bay where we were housed.  Strategically based on the wall at the front of the bay were the seven army values, amongst these 'honor', 'integrity' and 'personal courage'.  I’m sure the thought was that the more you soaked in the words, the more they moved to the forefront of your mind and, subsequently, your life.  The idea being that, when making choices in how to conduct yourself, to use the values as a guiding force.

It wasn’t enough to simply be a soldier in accordance with those values.  They were core values with which to live your life.

John McCain lacks almost all sense of honor, integrity & personal courage.

Originally published hereand crossposted here.

Now that there's a bit of a lull in the pre-election diary volume,  I'd like to kick the discussion up from the "here and now" issues to an issue that will continue to resonate regardless of who is elected in November: the pathological coupling between religious fundamentalism, flag worship, and what can be called, for lack of a better term, "warrior worship." Join me below the fold,  won't you?

When he vetoed the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, President Harry Truman called it "a slave-labor bill." The Republican-controlled Congress called it "an end to chaos," and overrode Truman's veto immediately. They were both politicking ahead of a defining campaign year.

The Presidential election of 1948 was a pivotal, fiercely fought contest for the soul of America. Post-World War. Early Cold War. Backlogged domestic issues. A nation starving for a new direction. A time when working people thought their wartime sacrifices and unresolved problems on the home front would take center stage. Indeed, the parties vying for the Oval Office crafted their campaigns (and parties themselves) around varying notions of what it would take to swing the working class vote their way. >>

What does it mean to be patriotic, to "love one's country"? It's something that, I think I can truthfully say, a fair number of people are concerned about, especially the question of "Does Barack Obama love this country?" I mean, Heaven forbid any person should disagree with the policies of the current government...!

Now, I come to the conclusion that if Sen. Obama is anything like me, he does love this country.

But... what is the country, and how does one love it?

Anna Quindlen wrote a piece in the current issue of Newsweek about Connie Heermann, a teacher at Perry Meridian High School (9 miles south of Indianapolis). She was suspended for a year and a half without pay for not following the school board guidance to retrieve the book The Freedom Writers Diary from students. (They even made a movie from the book.) She had passed them out after waiting three months for approval from the board. She had a local business pay for the books and collected approval slips from the parents of 149 out of 150 students plus favorable signals (or so she thought) from the principal of the school before distributing the book.

One key to understanding Barack's beliefs: we are beyond nations, they are crude, barbaric things.

Civilization no longer means belonging to the right nation, it's about moving fluidly through world communities, having the ability to operate effectively across cultural platforms (languages, religions, customs habits).

I know, it’s almost a week after the 4th of July. I’ve missed the celebratory bandwagon and now it’s back to politics as usual. Well, maybe I just needed some extra time to reflect on our situation. Each of the presidential candidates was asked to submit an essay about what “patriotism” means to them. John McCain focused on sacrifice, and Obama focused on faith in each other and in the American way (but, of course, also had to pay homage to McCain’s military service). Interesting, but do either actually do as they say or do they just expect us to look the other way when their actions contradict their words? John McCain is certainly expecting the public and the media to turn a blind eye to his hypocrisy (and, lucky for him, he’s getting it).

OK - be easy on me; this is my first diary after being a lurker here for quite some time.

I received an invitaion today to watch a video at a website called 'The Gratitude Campaign' (http://www.gratitudecampaign.org), which demonstrates an arm gesture to say 'thank you' to our servicemembers when you see them at airports, on the street etc. The message is that we need to be grateful to our military for protecting us from those terrorists who want to come over here to kill us.

First, they went after Barack Obama for not wearing a flag lapel pin. Then, they went after his wife for not feeling adequately proud of her country. Now, they're going after Rene Marie for singing Lift Every Voice and Singinstead of The Star-Spangled Banner at Denver's State of the City event last week.

For this fourth of July weekend, I went on a rafting trip in Western Colorado with 21 friends. While feasting on turkey chorizo sausages at our campsite, I happened to introduce the ever-so-patriotic subject of the shortages of America's health care system. One woman told me about her uncle, who, while on his motorcycle, was hit by a drunk driver who had no insurance and had to have his leg amputated. When told by his insurance that a prosthetic that would allow him to continue his active lifestyle was considered elective and was not covered, he underwent training to make the prosthetics himself. He since has dedicated his work to providing prosthetic limbs to people whose insurance won't cover them, and fighting to get prosthetics covered by all health insurance carriers.

John McCain's new television ad claims that John McCain, in searching for bipartisan solutions, has always put his country before his political ambitions.  [I do not not have youtube at work, so I cannot post the video, but here's a link from TPM for the ad.]  Really?

I've been a Yankee fan all my life mostly because I grew up in a household with die hard Yankee fans as parents.  My father was in the right field upperdeck when Mantle hit the facade, my mother used to sneak into Yankee games while going to Bronx Science High School (still one of the best in the country) and even hurt her foot when Moose Skowron stepped on it while signing autographs.

The only owner I've known is George Steinbrenner, a truly loathsome man who has been suspended from baseball, broken many a law, and generally treats people like garbage.  Notwithstanding these flaws, Steinbrenner is willing to pay whatever it takes to win and when you spend three to four times more money than everybody else, you can buy your way out of many a mistake.

Yet, despite it all, I've always been a Yankees fan.  It's just becoming harder and harder these days.

July 4th weekend limps to a close, hung over and sweating in the humidity.  American flags were hung from the houses with care.  Ice cold thirty-packs disappeared from the nation’s shelves wrapped in red, white, and blue logos.  The symphony of fireworks, roman candles, and M-80s wafted from the valleys below the Purple Mountain Majesty and across the Amber Waves of Grain.  

Are we really 232 years old?  Already?  Why, it seems only yesterday...

Reflecting on the meaning of July Fourth, I joined millions wondering how we found ourselves in national crisis. Only a decade ago, it seemed that America was at a pinnacle and still rising. Aside from a few grumbles in Moscow, Beijing and Paris, the world seemed happy to accept a "unipolar" world, led (gently) by a consensus-seeking but also overwhelmingly powerful Pax Americana.  Our alliances and popularity (the underpinnings of real international strength) were unsurpassed.  Our technology, economy, finances and science, appeared unparalleled.

... (continue for more on patriotism as seen by Barack Obama, George Washington, Roberts Scheer, Sean Hannity and yours truly)...

On the Fourth, Steven R wrote a diary about John McCain's essay on patriotism which appears in PARADE magazine today.

In the diary, Steven R pointed out McCain's subtle digs against his opponent in the presidential election, most egregious of which was the quote:

Just how patriotic does someone need to appear to be to be elected? More important, is showing patriotism dfferent from being patriotic?

Chris Satullo, a writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, made the suggestion in his column the other day that, instead of Fourth of July celebrations this year, we should sit in quiet contemplation of the plain fact that our country over the past seven years has engaged in torture, indefinite detention without charges, rendition, and other unspeakable acts.  It was a clear and provocative call to stand up for liberty in the face of fear, for honest criticism of our leaders as an act of patriotism.

We have betrayed the July 4 creed. We trample the vows we make, hand to heart.

Don't imagine that only the torturer's hand bears the guilt. The guilt reaches deep inside our Capitol, and beyond that - to us.

Our silence is complicit. In our name, innocents were jailed, humans tortured, our Constitution mangled. And we said so little.

Today, Satullo wrote a follow-up column, explaining the authoritarian response to his initial offering.  

  If I were the President today, July 5, 2008, this is what I would say to the people of our beloved country:  It is time to take stock of ourselves in every way.  Get off your lazy butt, park the SUV, start committing personal time and resources to rescue the underclass and unplug yourself and your children from the electronic gadgetry that keeps you from learning about what your government has done to the Constitution.