Dissent is STILL Patriotic
Remember seeing a bumper sticker draped across the back of so many ancient Volvo's over the past eight years, right next to such gems as "Free Tibet" and "Attack Iraq? NO!"? What did it say? "Dissent is the highest form of Patriotism." It's a quote usually attributed to Thomas Jefferson, although the validity of that is up for debate. Doesn't it seem like as soon as President Obama walked into the Oval Office, we were all supposed to put our partisan differences aside and follow him off a cliff? This was bound to happen with such a captivating leader, but it doesn't mean it's right. To express myself, as I've grown accustomed to doing, I made a sticker.
Like it? Hope so! I had the idea a few weeks ago and then about a week ago my like-minded uncle emailed me requesting nearly this exact phrase on a sticker. So hopefully conservatives around the country will dig the idea. If you're one such person, stickers are currently $4.50 each at Cafepress.com/stillpatriotic. Go get one!
I don't want to be a person who dissents just because a candidate has a D next to his name instead of an R, that's not the case at all. But with the rampant spending and anti-life actions the President has already taken, count me as a dissenter. I also can't stand the mindset that he's trying to give the country; whenever he speaks he's accompanied by these down-on-their-luck cases and insists that it's his job to pick them up off the ground. He also insists that he needs to carry them and the only way to do that is by bringing down the responsible part of the population who have earned enough to not need the help. The whole thing lacks personal responsibility and it's more damaging to our psyche than anything George W. Bush ever did.
Ultimately I feel positive about the future for conservatives. I heard liberal radio host Nancy Skinner poking fun at the Republican Party, saying they need ideas for what direction to go in. Conservatives are definitely in an awkward place right now but it's not a place we haven't been in before and we've never just gone away. I feel like the country in general is a lot more conservative than Democrats think and the decisions they make will not move the country in a direction most people are comfortable with. It may seem bleak now but, as a wise man once said, the night is always darkest before the dawn.
Comments
The whole point is the STILL part. What have you been listening to? All I've heard for the last four years is how patriotic it is to hate on W. All I've heard for the last 5 months is how unpatriotic it is to not just sit in a circle singing Kumbaya. Just because a person gets elected on a message of hope, change, and all-encompassing unity doesn't mean that we all have to unify- particularly given the message we're expected to get behind.
Cameron, I fully agree with your assertion that "dissent is still patriotic". You have a constitutional right to free speech. However, you must be ignoring the 8 years of conservative rule where the very act of questioning the government was seen as unpatriotic and un-American. So, perhaps you should remove the "still" from your sticker, as it's quite disingenuous and misleading at best.