As Barack Obama and John McCain attempt to sway public opinion over who of the two is the penultimate patriot, the stomach roils.  Was it not unbridled patriotism that got us into this mess in Iraq and continues to stifle debate in the hallowed halls of Congress?  As beliefs is all but country fades, what drives American domestic and foreign policy is patriotism, a subjective condition defined by the ruling elite.

It was patriotism that put Jesus of Nazareth on the cross - the ascendancy of the nation-state of Israel over the prophetic Messianic hope in unholy alliance with the supremacy of Rome over its conquered subjects.

It was patriotism that propelled the Third Reich into near-world domination.  The Germany that had failed in its anointed mission in WW1 looked to Adolph Hitler to restore its God-ordained glory in WW2. 

It was patriotism that protracted 9/11 from a mission of justice in Afghanistan to a mission of pride and greed in Iraq.

It is patriotism that dampens all debate over American foreign policy and installs scoundrels in the highest annals of power.

What Samuel Johnson had in mind when he declared patriotism to be the "last refuge of a scoundrel" has been a matter of debate for over two-hundred years.  It is possible that only recently has the world come to grips with the characteristics of a scoundrel as it witnesses American hegemony in the Middle East.  Patriotism rears its ugly head as the righteous umbrella of oil and Zionism.

A scoundrel is one who employs dissension and disorganization to advance his own interests.  The rise of patriotism since 9/11 can, therefore, be traced to the triumph of opportunity over honor.  Those who have abandoned belief in anything they cannot see, touch, taste or hear become fiercely committed to "My country, love it or leave it," hoping that by leaving it, there will be more power and riches for self-styled patriots.

American Christians who profess citizenship in the Kingdom of God bridge the great divide between the eternal and the temporal by merging the Bible and the Christian faith with the theocratic nightmare of a Christian nation.  Patriotism thus becomes the common ground between Caesar and God.

The presidential election of 2008 is shaping up as a debate over who is the most patriotic.  Barack Obama and John McCain are spending millions defining themselves as the greater patriot.  (It is, I suppose, no accident that Microsoft Spellcheck draws a heavy red line under both Barack and Obama, while John and McCain deftly escape the edit.)

Yesterday, Gen. Wesley Clark suggested that getting shot down while piloting a fighter jet was no qualification to be President.  McCain has launched a counter offensive on matters of allegiance to country, while the ever-judgmental Christian Right insists that his lack of Evangelical pedigree negates that allegiance.

Obama, on the other hand, has launched a defense of his patriotism by countering the weirdness his moniker and the uniqueness of his color.  Three little corrections would clear the air for Microsoft lovers and, presumably, for the blogidiots clinging to the belief that he is a closet Muslim bent on destroying America." Add another "r" to Barack, replace the "b" in Obama with "s" and be photographed eating a greasy pork rib.  No watermelons, please!

Self-styled patriots are in full operational mode, while the greatness of America is being sacrificed on the altar of "What's in it for me?"

Samuel Johnson had a lot to say, we are told.  He has been heralded as the most quoted English writer after William Shakespeare and one of the most popular figures of the 18^th Century.  When he talked of patriotism, however, he was addressing those upstart Yankees who were fermenting rebellion against the King - much the same as American diatribe against any nation that would dare question our policies and motives.  Care for a French Fry?

Out of the volumes of his work, a little gem stands out:

"...the greater, far the greater number of those who rave and rail, and inquire and accuse, neither suspect nor fear, nor care for the publick; but hope to force their way to riches, by virulence and invective, and are vehement and clamorous, only that they may be sooner hired to be silent."[1]

 

While the preponderance of the American public longs for the restoration of sanity and civility in our government, far too many rave, rail, inquire and accuse with no care or accountability for its destructive effect. 

In the event that the election of 2008 becomes mired in the futile search for a patriot, we will have learned nothing from this seemingly endless nightmare of the past eight years.  Worse yet, we will be saddled with another eight years of the mediocrity that wraps courage in a flag.

[1] ADDRESS TO THE ELECTORS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 1774,  http://www.samueljohnson.com/thepatriot.html