I long ago developed a deep, visceral hatred for those groups that pervert the word “patriot.”
Why bring that up now? It appears that a Fort Worth-based hate group has been fingered in a bust of haters who were rounded up in northern Idaho this week.
The group calls itself the “Patriot Front,” which is a white supremacist outfit with a mission to spread lies and hate-soaked messages about anyone who doesn’t believe as they do.
The FBI rounded up the suspects from several states, eight or nine of whom are front North Texas.
I hate this perversion of the word “patriot” because I consider myself a patriot. I served my country in time of war; I went to war when my country ordered me to do so. I served and came home. I pay my taxes regularly and without a hint of resentment. I play by the rules the government lays down for me to obey.
I am a square when it comes to this stuff.
What’s more, I get chills when I hear the National Anthem. I fly Old Glory in front of my home and display a red-white-and-blue banner in the living room window.
I am a patriotic sap.
Furthermore, I resent terribly anyone or any organization that proclaims their patriotism while espousing any principle that flies in the face of what the founders intended when they created this nation in the late 18th century.
I want to make one more point. We’re celebrating Flag Day today. We fly the flag not because we cherish the cloth that contains its colors. We fly it because of what it symbolizes, which is the liberty to protest the government and, yes, to burn the flag if you believe your protest is worthy of such an act.
Make no mistake, though, in believing that burning a flag in my presence will persuade me to follow your political lead. Oh, no. Not even. I just honor the liberty that we all have in this country to protest peacefully.
As for the Patriot Front … well, it’s a hate group that has earned my eternal hatred.