Ordinary Patriotism

by digby

Watching the All Star game opening ceremony, I was struck by the fact that for the first time since 9/11, we didn’t have an exclusively martial pageant at one of these events. Instead, the theme was all about ordinary Americans giving back and the flag was put to use as a symbol of something other than war. They even said “thank you for your service” to people who aren’t in the military. The soldiers were there, of course, holding the flag, and a big stealth bomber flew overhead when they sang the National Anthem, but the program wasn’t a non-stop battle cry like it has been.

It’s a small thing, but I’m glad to see patriotism becoming more broadly defined again. It’s a good sign that we are finally coming back down to earth a little bit.

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