Stewart, though no doubt assisted by a team of very able writers, really is a superb media critic. There is so much to commend here, but perhaps the most salient point is the right-wing’s hijacking of American patriotism. As Stewart says, how is it that people who protest against American public institutions are patriots, but those who assail the greed of private corporations are deemed un-American? If nothing else comes out of these protests, perhaps we can finally reclaim the meaning of patriotism and break its illegitimate association with capitalism uber alles.
Timsays
I agree with Richard. The other salient point that stood out for me was Stewart’s comment about the media settings of “blackout” or “circus”.
What does it mean to be a patriot, anyway? It’s a construct and means nothing until we assign meaning to it.
There is no national definition of a patriot and no one will ever agree on the definition. Everyone will continue to use the constructs “unpatriotic” every time they want to insult people and they lack the vocabulary to do it.
Seriously, what is a patriot? To you? What makes your meaning correct?
Stewart, though no doubt assisted by a team of very able writers, really is a superb media critic. There is so much to commend here, but perhaps the most salient point is the right-wing’s hijacking of American patriotism. As Stewart says, how is it that people who protest against American public institutions are patriots, but those who assail the greed of private corporations are deemed un-American? If nothing else comes out of these protests, perhaps we can finally reclaim the meaning of patriotism and break its illegitimate association with capitalism uber alles.
I agree with Richard. The other salient point that stood out for me was Stewart’s comment about the media settings of “blackout” or “circus”.
What does it mean to be a patriot, anyway? It’s a construct and means nothing until we assign meaning to it.
There is no national definition of a patriot and no one will ever agree on the definition. Everyone will continue to use the constructs “unpatriotic” every time they want to insult people and they lack the vocabulary to do it.
Seriously, what is a patriot? To you? What makes your meaning correct?