Guest Post by Morbo
Conservatives often accuse liberals of hating America. It’s an ironic charge because it’s liberals — with their forward-looking views and belief that America can always do better — who constantly prod the country to change and improve.
Our aspirations for this country are pretty simple, yet profound: We insist that our nation live up to the words in its founding documents. We work toward a society that truly values liberty, justice and equal opportunity for all. We insist that the highest form of patriotism is sometimes found in questioning leaders and their decisions instead of blind allegiance to nationalistic goals.
All of this is evidence not of disdain for America but of an optimistic vision of a bright, shared future that is there for us if want it. I would submit that when liberals ask our nation to do better or hold it to its promises, we are not criticizing America but showing how much we care by demanding the country meet the highest standards. We don’t want our nation to fall short precisely because we love it.
Liberals do not hate America — but they do hate what conservatives have done to America. On this Independence Day, as we mark the 230th birthday of our nation, pause to reflect on the conservative legacy that has debased our great nation — and then pledge to keep working for a better country:
* Conservatives took a nation that was universally regarded as a shining beacon of hope for the oppressed and down-trodden and turned it into an object of scorn and derision in every corner of the globe.
* Conservatives made the world’s most powerful economic success story a debt-ridden basket case with an income gap between the rich and the poor that rivals a banana republic.
* Conservatives took a nation forged in religious liberty and arrogantly proclaimed it a “Christian nation.”
* Conservatives mocked our values and shredded our ability to occupy the moral high ground by embracing the indefinite detention and torture of our enemies and perceived enemies.
* Conservatives repeatedly pandered to the basest instincts of the mob instead of offering the people a bold vision.
* Conservatives led a nation of immigrants on two successive xenophobic crusades, first against people of Middle Eastern origin, then against Hispanics.
* Conservatives blithely discarded their own claims to value individual liberty and personal choice by orchestrating hateful attacks against gays and lesbians and using the power of big government to meddle in private reproductive matters.
* Conservatives looked at the natural beauty of our nation and saw something to be exploited; they dirtied its air, fouled it waters, mowed down its old-growth forests and made it harder for the government to stop it, in the hope of making a quick profit.
* Conservatives extolled the virtues of self-reliance and fair play — and then passed a series of tax cuts for the super-rich.
* Conservatives claimed to speak for the “little guy” — and then shredded the social safety net.
* Conservatives spoke of the need for intellectual engagement – and then tried to privatize public education and made it all but impossible for anyone but rich kids to go to college without assuming massive debt.
* Conservatives took the first and most important duty of government, to provide for the safety of the people, and used it as just another campaign “wedge issue.”
* Conservatives waved flags and glorified war – while their draft-dodging leaders threw mud at any battle-tested veteran who dared to speak against them.
This is what conservatives have done to America. They have debased and denigrated a once-great nation in the pursuit of raw power. They have left us in the grip of an amoral ethic that puts the needs of the market ahead of the needs of the people. They have mocked and abused our freedoms and claimed to be patriots while doing it.
No amount of bunting, flag waving and heated rhetoric will make conservative leaders true patriots. The real patriots are the people who stand up to them. The real patriots are the people who will put an end to their reign of terror.
Is America worth saving from these dangerous loons? You bet it is. Enjoy your Fourth of July, but then get back to work.