"endless criticism "..."remaining silent" ..."little room"... and "blatant public pride" are matters of personal limits, taste, and opinion, not the entitled dictates of one side over the other. It wasn't always this way, you know. It started when one side began using the flag to justify their policy, and the other side responded by deliberately shoving their flag in their faces. Has it gone too far? Sure it has, you would think that abstract national symbols would be something both sides could agree on.

But when a Presidential candidate is attacked because he doesn't wear a flag on his lapel, that is just plain wrong, and it is every patriotic American's oblgation NOT to wear one just to send those sanctimonius little professional patriots a lesson. My idea of disrespecting the flag is Ollie North wearing it on his lapel.

Yeah, there's some things I really don't like to hear, and sometimes people go way too far, and no, there is nothing wrong with a little genuine patriotism every now and then; but I wasn't born yesterday and I know when it's being used as a weapon to hammer us all into the same mold and when its a genuine reflection of an unencumbered and unqualified love of country.

The Right does not own the flag, and they don't have the patent on patriotism, how DARE they preach to me, and as long as they do, I will personally delight in metaforically burning every flag they befoul with their smug self-righteousness.

I speak of the flag, of course, as a shorthand for the use of all patriotic symbols and rhetoric as a substitute for real discussion of issues. Both sides are guilty of this, but in my opinion, there many more voices shrieking about "disrespecting the country" than there are voices actually doing the disrespecting. It's a convenient crutch to fall back on, one which infuriates me, which is why I always respond so vigorously when its brought up. Calling all people who disagree with you "traitor" is inexcusable, even if there are a very few who might actually deserve that epithet.