Flag pin doesn’t prove patriotism

Re “Rally ‘round the lapel pin,” Opinion, March 3

Barack Obama is correct not to wear a flag lapel pin, and the Bush administration officials who do are incorrect.

That said, the substance of the issue is the appropriation by Republicans, and a few craven go-along Democrats, of an icon that should belong to everybody. It has everything to do with the casting of their agenda as patriotic and any dissent as unpatriotic.

They wear the pins to inoculate themselves from those who question their agenda. Questioning them becomes like questioning the flag itself. How refreshing that a politician, Obama, attracts supporters through ideas and substance rather than through bullying.

The flag lapel pin began its vogue as a fashion accessory for Republicans during the days of Watergate. Cynical displays of faux patriotism apparently were the last refuges of scoundrels back then too.

Robert Gross

Glendale

I strongly disagree with Gregory Rodriguez’s advice to Obama to start wearing the American flag lapel pin. I consider myself a political pragmatist and agree that not wearing the pin gives Republicans a “stick with which to beat” him, but I also believe that the senator from Illinois has attempted to explain that symbolism doesn’t equate to love of country. By honestly answering questions concerning his suit sans pin, he has engaged the public in a debate about what it means to be patriotic. He comes across to this veteran as genuine and sincere. Obama has risen above those who place stickers on the bumpers of their SUVs and feel that they have done their part in the war effort. There is no need to pander to those who do not understand that.

Jimmy Finan

Washington

Obama hopes that telling Americans how he expects to “make this country great” will pass as patriotism.

I suspect it will, at Columbia and Harvard. The academic left generally agrees that America is fundamentally flawed and needs to be reimagined from the ground up. We can start by restructuring our society along the lines of Sweden or France, and modeling our foreign policy on Switzerland’s.

Considering his academic background, it’s only natural for Obama to refer to American greatness not as something that already exists but as something he plans to create. His attitude mirrors that of Michelle Obama, who could find no reason to be proud of her country until it discovered her husband.

It will be interesting to learn if voters will look at these two and see patriotism or impudence.

Michael Smith

Cynthiana, Ky.