A recurring theme I've been running into is taking back patriotism. Samuel Johnson's quote, "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel" has often been brought up. Many people claim that his barb was really aimed at those false patriots who equate patriotism with their specific political philosophy.

On one mailing list, I sent this as my reply discussions about flag waving at the Democractic National Convention:

I love my country. I love words from our pledge of allegiance, “with liberty and justice for all”. I love the words from our declaration of independence, “that all men are created equal”. I was a blogger at the Democratic National Convention. I waved my flag there, and I am proud to be an American.

No, I am not proud of what the current administration has done. I am not proud of how the words “liberty and justice for all” don’t always get carried out. I am not proud of Americans that think that the only men created equal are rich white men, and not all humans.

But our country was founded on some lofty ideals, and I hold in highest regard those that honor freedom of speech, by exercising that freedom to criticize the government when it fails. I hold in highest regard those that recognize that dissent is patriotic. Not only is it patriotic, but if we love our country it is our civic duty to criticize the country when it goes astray. I hold in highest regard those that when they hear, “America, love it or leave it” respond, “Liberty, love it, or lose it”.