"We can usher in a new form of patriotism that places solving problems above the same petty Inside-the-Beltway games that have steered our country so far off course," said Madia, who is 30 years old."
Ashwin Madia, quoted in The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, April 13, 2008
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Ashwin Madia was profiled on MTV the other day. Chris Truscott put the link up without substantive comment; Joe Bodell posted on it noting an as-yet unfamiliar description of Ashwin's joining the Marines. With the traditional July 4 talk of patriotism--much of it, frankly, mindless--perhaps a fresh listen to Ashwin Madia on this subject, transcribed from the MTV interview, might be in order:
Our message has been about redefining patriotism in our country. You know we've gotten a definition of patriotism over the past several years that basically says you put a bumper sticker on your car, you bang your chest, you say you support the troops and that makes you a patriot. I don't think so—I think that makes you a cheerleader. I think real patriots sometimes sacrifice a little bit for the country that they love. Maybe recycling can be patriotic, maybe giving these tax rebate checks can be patriotic, maybe changing the way we do energy in this country…maybe investing in mass transit…
So, rather than taking President Bush to task for misdirecting the nation's patriotic impulse, Madia ridicules a jingoistic redneck made of straw. As an alternative to my habitual chest-banging and bumper-sticking, what activities does Madia propose, as pursuits worthily designated redefining patriotism? Tossing my empty Diet Coke can in the recycling bin? Donating my tax rebate check...to whom? Weaning our country from the Saudi teat makes sense, but that is a self-interested goal, no?
Don't get me wrong, Ashbots: I'm attracted to the redefining patriotism meme and think you're on the right track. But your rhetoric on this subject remains a bit muddled, no? Can you retool it?
On the weekend of the Fourth, Erik Paulsen [er...'The Paulsens'] also put forward a 'patriotism' statement:
Today we celebrate our independence. Over the years, that precious freedom has come with a great price. Today, we must thank our men and women in uniform, as they are the ones who put their lives on the line so that all Americans are allowed to live free.
Is it genuinely your view, Erik Paulsen, that US troops in Iraq are putting their lives on the line in defense of America's independence? What about American troops fighting or stationed (currently or in the past) in Grenada, Japan, Vietnam or Kosovo? Isn't it a bit of a stretch to suggest America's independence hinged on the outcome of their service?
Can't we think of something to say about patriotism which doesn't make phony distinctions, and coheres?
5 comments:
Can we get off the tired old ZOMG SAUDI OIL meme?
About 12% of our total petroleum imports come from Saudi Arabia. That's less than Canada and Mexico and just about even with Nigeria.
Keep in mind that we produce about a third of our crude domestically, so in the end about 8% of what you pump into your car comes from the Saudis.
The Saudis aren't the problem; the oil companies are the problem.
Actually, since oil is put into one giant pool, where oil is shipped from the closest delivery point (fungible), where we actually get the oil is not important as the "influence" and "domination" of the oil market by the biggest suppliers = the Saudis. Fungible is to ensure that oil is delivered by least transportation cost.
That's right, Grace...the Saudis are producing 11.6% of the global oil supply; it doesn't matter what portion of their output we're consuming. We need to drastically reduce our consumption of oil for a host of reasons--to reduce harm to the environment, to stop enriching despotisms, to reduce our need to favor a smooth oil flow in our foreign policy, etc. The Republican strategy, typified by Rep. Ramstad, is to repeatedly say that reducing oil importation is a matter of national security while doing nothing. Dramatic, fairly quick improvement in this area is possible, were we to dump the SUV and get the average fuel economy of passenger cars over 35 mpg. That's what we'd do if it were a matter of national security.
Gavin, you are very biased against Madia's chances. He's the one who's up around 55/45 in the district. The mood favors the democrat. This is totally his to lose. Besides, he's going to match paulsen with his latest fundraising numbers and will have as many resources.
I'm a big Bloggingheads fan, as you may already know...and was just introduced to Overcoming Bias, a quite interesting blog [view this for an introduction to Robin Hanson's ideas]. You'd think we could all agree that tendencies toward bias creep in on us all, and that we ought to rigorously and regularly attempt to face up to our own biases... As Hanson put forth, during his Bloggingheads appearance, our bias may come in the form of wishful thinking, overconfidence, arrogance, paying attention to things in front of us as opposed to things beyond our eyesight...some of us--particularly those of us who blog--have a need to disagree, so as to think well of ourselves, to show our creativity, independence, autonomy and dominance. (All of the above are Hanson's ideas, which strike me as reasonable...) I certainly want to acknowledge my bias-proneness, and try to address it, as we move along here... Not long ago, Joe Bodell suggested Team Paulsen had an internal poll putting their guy behind Ashwin Madia by 5%. And my gut tells me--at the present moment--that it's likely more in the 60-40 range, favoring Paulsen. Might I be deceiving myself, to Ashwin's disadvantage (due to envy [of the politically successful, of the young, of the glamorous, etc.], closet Republicanism, hyper-contrarianism, vanity, more-pessimistic-than-thou-ism, etc.)? If the election were held today and Ash won by 5%, that wouldn't necessarily prove my bias, of course...one can get something wrong for reasons other than bias. But I'll leave open that possibility. While you've got me rambling, commenter...I should also note that I am very positively disposed toward Ashwin Madia's candidacy, while repeatedly attempting to reassure Erik Paulsen that, if he'll speak with me, I won't twist his nose or steal his loafer tassels.
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