Where Has The Patriotism Gone?

Do you remember the flags? Do you remember the streets lined with Old Glory? Do you remember sweaters, clocks, stickers, buttons, hats, shirts, and anything else you could carry, wear, or put on display colored red, white, and blue?

It's hard, but think back. After September 11th, America rallied. We put aside our separate political agendas, our rudeness, and petty squabbles to gather behind Lady Liberty. Manufacturers of flags couldn't meet the demand of consumers. Wal-Mart said they sold more of Old Glory in one week than they had in the five previous years. Citizens of New York City did the unthinkable - they held doors, championed police, and some reports even claim eye contact was made in secluded areas. Uncle Sam finally had a fan base.

What happened? Where did the flag-wavers go? All of the flags, were they properly disposed of? When spring cleaning 2002 came around, was the banner that survived the winter frost no longer worthy of flying over green pastures or multi-family subdivisions?

Spring cleaning 2003 may have been the tipping point for the patriotic. The U.S. invasion of Iraq had rolled snake eyes in the search for weapons of mass destruction and our sons and daughters in arms were dying. The evening news ran the names and hometowns of GI's that brought the cost of war home to John and Jane Doe. Is that when the flags came down? Was that the reason? Did perceivingly poor decisions by America's leader symbolize everything that was America?

Sadly, when the flags fell, the America-bashing rose. Today, using scenes of a waving flag in a political commercial is taboo. Celebrities badmouth not only America, but the flag itself. Four-and-a-half years ago, if you flew the banner from a pickup truck, people would sympathize with those who have given so much for the freedoms we enjoy. Now, if you're caught with one, you're a redneck, or worse yet - a conservative. Where has it all gone? Has the nation decided that it's more appropriate to join the masses of war protesters than wear a "Don't Tread On Me!" shirt?

It seems now, the only way the heart of the good 'ole American spirit can be resuscitated is for thousands more to be slaughtered on our sacred soil. Pessimism doesn't drive this speculation, reality seems to. Whichever side you take in the political circles, it only seems appropriate - nay, dutiful - to wave Old Glory high above the hills so that those who wish to do us great harm will know: You can test our will, but you can never break our American spirit.