Empty Gestures
Barack Obama continues to impress me as one of the only candidates who understands that a new era is afoot in American politics that largely involves ditching everything that has transpired over the Bush years. A small matter in the scheme of things, but highly symbolic, Obama has decided to cease wearing the post-9/11 mandatory flag pin on his jacket lapel, something I have found ridiculous for some time. One of Obama's supporters puts it well:
On an Obama campaign conference call just now featuring retired Air Force General Merrill McPeak, who has endorsed Obama in a new ad, Fox News correspondent Major Garrett made sure to ask the general what he thought about Obama's decision to no longer wear the pin."This business about the lapel pin, I think the senator understands that patriotism is hard work," replied General McPeak. "If you could just do it by placing a flag on your lapel, that would be pretty easy."
McPeak then dismissed the flag flap as "petty symbolism." "This pin flap is kind of business as usual. Isn't that the old politics, the gotcha politics," he said. "Barack stands for turning the page. Let's do something substantial here."
Indeed. This nonesense belongs in the dustbin of history along with "freedom fries" and "preemptive war." Let's move forward instead of infinitely regressing into jingoistic mindless xenophobia.