Patriotism requires accountability

Charles Brandon Taylor

The republican party will steadily claim that they are the only patriotic, America first, freedom-loving party there is. That the left hates their country and hates the values of our sacred land. However, they could not be farther from the truth. In fact, many of us serve as the complete opposite of the republican party’s complacency in our country’s shortcomings.

The constant criticism of the wrongdoings being dealt upon us does not come without appropriate reasoning. Our country is led by leaders who place their own values above our own. Placing their wallets in the metaphorical offering tray of its congregation only to spend it on their own misdeeds rather than the needs of our country and its people. 

We have people on the streets, unable to afford their rent or mortgage, unable to receive affordable medical care, unable to feed their families. We are a country of despair hidden behind the façade of high-rise buildings, fancy cars, and pointless public figures who build careers on vanity. From the densest cities to the most sprawling rural areas, red and blue, both in need, yet only one side refuses to admit it, all while pointing their finger away from their own destitution.

So, God forbid our people kneel for the flag, God forbid our citizens criticize the brutality of our authoritarian forces and the politicians who serve as their battery packs. How can one not understand our constant questioning of why, how, and when? It is a persistent cycle of our beloved country giving our money away to useless ideas, along with one-sided alliances, leading from invasion to war, and then yet another rise in prices for the American public.

Republicans will constantly attack countries such as Iran, Russia, China, or North Korea for their attacks on freedom and the brutalization of their people. And yet, when similar atrocities are bestowed upon our own fellow countrymen and women, the right will stand with their eyes sealed shut and their hands over their ears. All because their beliefs teach them that someone is not granted the same rights as others due to their skin color, their religion, or their country of birth. It is beyond sickening, and that is not the values of my America.

Therefore, as a proud American who loves his country and all of its people, I will never understand the republican party’s devotion to tyranny. I will never understand how they can turn a blind eye to the monstrosities of a country that claims to stand for everything except what it is currently doing. We are patriotic. We are proud. And we are everything the right claims to be and more because we vow to hold our country accountable. You can love your country and still disapprove of those who run it and the state they have forced us into. We are the living proof of that.