Garrison Keillor has a great article at Salon titled "Playing soldier - What's patriotism got to do with fat men with ponytails on Harleys?""May 28, 2008 | Three-hundred thousand bikers spent Memorial Day weekend roaring around Washington in tribute to our war dead, and I stood on Constitution Avenue Sunday afternoon watching a river of them go by ... The street had been closed off for them and they motored on, some flying the Stars and Stripes and the black MIA-POW flag, honking, revving their engines, an endless celebration of internal combustion.
"A patriotic bike rally is sort of like a patriotic toilet-papering or patriotic graffiti; the patriotism somehow gets lost in the sheer irritation of the thing. Somehow a person associates Memorial Day with long moments of silence when you summon up mental images of men huddled together on LSTs and pilots revving up B-24s and infantrymen crouched behind piles of rubble steeling themselves for the next push.
"You don't quite see the connection between that and these fat men with ponytails on Harleys. After hearing a few thousand bikes go by, you think maybe we could airlift these gentlement to Baghdad to show their support of the troops in a tangible way. ...
" ... but the bikers riding in formation are more interested in being seen than in learning anything. They are grown men playing soldier, making a great hullaballoo without exposing themselves to danger, other than getting drunk and falling off a bike.
"No wonder the Current Occupant welcomed them with open arms at the White House, put on a black leather vest, and gave a manly speech about how he'd just 'choppered in' and saw the horde 'cranking up their machines' and he thanked them for being so patriotic. They are his kind of guys, full of bluster, giving off noxious fumes, and when they leave town, nobody missed them."
Riding a bike, waving a flag, honking one's horn doth not a patriot make!
Read the entire Keillor article here.
1 comment:
I do not think that patriotism is a matter of waving a flag, once a year; wearing a flag pin; displaying a bumper sticker, or most physical displays that involve nor risk or action. We have a huge number of flag waving patriots tht will not and never have served in our armed forces because they have other priorities as Cheney said. Most have no family members that are willing to serve. Many do not support a draft to bring our military up to the numbers needed to wage war or keep the peace. Most want to wave the flag and avoid any sacrifice, except perhaps skip a golf game or two to defend the homeland. Their patriotism seems to be to get others to fight whatever battle they decide should be fought. They do not support the troops with proper equipment; or honor their servioce publicly when they return wounded or in body bags. They do not fund the Veterans Administration adequately after being told repeatedly that more is needed. They are phonies and should be exposed at every opportunity. Waving a flag is easier than wearing a uniform. There is no easy way to judge people’s patriotism except thru their actions.
Bob Poris
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