Maggie's Farm

Joel Stein - what an ass. He says:

"They do love America more. Sure, we liberals claim that our love is deeper because we seek to improve the United States by pointing out its flaws. But calling your wife fat isn't love. True love is the blind belief that your child is the smartest, cutest, most charming person in the world, one you would gladly die for. I'm more in "like" with my country."

As a combat vet, and a husband, I know that true love isn't believing your child is all that and a bag of Kettle Chips, or calling your wife fat, or 'blind allegiance to whatever my country does.' It's loving your wife knowing damn well those pants don't fit, and loving your child more than anything while encouraging him to live up to his full potential, in spite of his inability to do math, play Bach, or throw a football. It's loving your country and biting your lip and saying, "well, I don't agree with how the fight started, but we're in it, and now it's us against you."

As an American, I think the country has a lot of problems. I do some work to try to fix some of them. I still love the country surpassingly. Having seen up close a lot of other liberal democracies as well as a lot of more hellish places, I know how good we have it. Our evils are of lesser magnitude than most other nations' evils. I can live with that.

Stein on the other hand... Stein is the kind of guy who gives me an occasional twinge of regret that I served. He's absolutely right and I'm glad at least one of them is willing to be honest about it. Liberals laugh at us. I got shot at, and lost a couple friends, so that he could have the right to laugh his ass off and make a good living writing about what a moron I, and the rubes I served with, are. Well, to keep his gas prices low and our economy in good stead, which in turn supports mediocre journalism talents like himself. Same thing though.

In the long run, Stein and his ilk will get theirs. No nation lasts forever, no civilization lasts forever, and when the barbarians are once again ascendant, Stein and his men-of-no-tribe will be sent into the fields to starve.

A man who thinks love is blind, who thinks his wife truly is flawless or his kid is truly perfect, is a man who cannot feel real love. His version of love, apparently, stops at oxytocin intoxication, the selfish, dumb first blush of what love actually is. I'm glad I'm not his wife or girlfriend or kid; the realization that he can only actually love an illusion, that his version of love is the shallowest and least durable, and really all about how good he feels about himself right now, not about me at all, would be a painful blow. As for being a citizen of his country... if he's so hot for Sweden or Denmark he should move in with one of them and quit pestering my girl.

Joel, life isn't about you, and we're just not that into you, either.