| There exists on SI a great deal of confusion over who "hates" America. Having a different opinion about America is not hating it. Seeing the faults in America and loving it anyway, is not hating it. In fact, I would argue, that seeing the faults in something and loving it anyway, is a greater and more mature love than simply loving an idealized version of a thing. Loving an ideal is really loving your own idea, a pygmalion type of thoughtfulness (or thoughtlessness)- it is adolescent and immature. Loving a thing even though you see faults in it, loving it perhaps despite and because of its faults, is more akin to the kind of love some people attribute to God. IMO love that is selfish and will not admit fault is no kind of love at all. Just my opinion. I've always thought that the people who really want to destroy America, are people willing to destroy fellow citizens for exercising the precious freedoms we have in this country. One of our freedoms is we do not HAVE to be responsible. We can be irresponsible as long as we do not violate those few restrictions imposed on us by case law- which run only to inciting to violence, obscenity, etc. The bar is high, because one of the wonderful things about the US, is the right of every individual to be extreme. Those who would take that away from others, are, imo extreme and dangerous to America- but of course, they have every right to be so. |
