The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

An Ode to Faux-Christianity and Patriotism Standing upright, A hand over the heart, Singing one verse off key, Ignorant of the others, Wavering high in the sky, Red, white, and blue, Cherry-picking history, All empathy subdued, Placed around the neck, Showcasing blind faith, As the eyes close, And we pray our sins away, A symbol of love, A symbol of sacrifice, This cross often ignored, A crutch for self-forgiveness, Burning the Constitution while saluting the flag, Pissing on the poor while preaching the good word, The antithesis of true Christian beliefs, The antithesis of patriotism.

I've been both flustered and fascinated by this. Why is it that it seems symbols and bumper-sticker slogans hold such greater value to conservative Republicans than to liberal Democrats? Why do they spend so much time caring that a symbol of a cross be displayed in as many places as possible? That they sport an American flag on a shirt or other articles of clothing? That drivers know via a sticker they support the troops, believe in freedom, and love God? I've never understood this and with every election that passes, it appears to be occurring with more frequency as the Republican Party moves further and further to the right. To outsiders, the American flag is just a piece of cloth, which showcases stars and stripes and the colors red, white, and blue. To Americans, this piece of cloth holds greater significance than to the outsiders. However, I often times wonder how many people whom sport the flag so frequently on clothing and the like actually think about why they are doi...