When I was younger I loved the 4th of July and all the hoopla surrounding it. Of course, the USA is a much different country than it was years ago, everything has been turned upside down. I'm sure many older folks still feel a great affinity for the flag. It is very understandable. Most of them live in the past watching Andy Griffith reruns and old John Wayne movies.
When they salute the stars and stripes they are looking back to a time when America truly was a shining light. Not perfect by any stretch but still quite wonderful in many ways.
I guess the writers of the piece below see the parades as representing the old values too, which they most certainly despised.
I don't think they'd have a problem with celebrating Cinco De Mayo, MLK day, Juneteenth, or any other B.S. like that.
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2011/06/30/harvard-july-4th-parades-are-right-wing
Harvard: July 4th Parades Are Right-Wing
By Paul Bedard
Posted: June 30, 2011
Democratic political candidates can skip this weekend's July 4th parades. A new Harvard University study finds that July 4th parades energize only Republicans, turn kids into Republicans, and help to boost the GOP turnout of adults on Election Day.
"Fourth of July celebrations in the United States shape the nation's political landscape by forming beliefs and increasing participation, primarily in favor of the Republican Party," said the report from Harvard. [See political cartoons about the 2012 GOP field.]
"The political right has been more successful in appropriating American patriotism and its symbols during the 20th century. Survey evidence also confirms that Republicans consider themselves more patriotic than Democrats. According to this interpretation, there is a political congruence between the patriotism promoted on Fourth of July and the values associated with the Republican party. Fourth of July celebrations in Republican dominated counties may thus be more politically biased events that socialize children into Republicans," write Harvard Kennedy School Assistant Professor David Yanagizawa-Drott and Bocconi University Assistant Professor Andreas Madestam.
When they salute the stars and stripes they are looking back to a time when America truly was a shining light. Not perfect by any stretch but still quite wonderful in many ways.
I guess the writers of the piece below see the parades as representing the old values too, which they most certainly despised.
I don't think they'd have a problem with celebrating Cinco De Mayo, MLK day, Juneteenth, or any other B.S. like that.
http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washington-whispers/2011/06/30/harvard-july-4th-parades-are-right-wing
Harvard: July 4th Parades Are Right-Wing
By Paul Bedard
Posted: June 30, 2011
Democratic political candidates can skip this weekend's July 4th parades. A new Harvard University study finds that July 4th parades energize only Republicans, turn kids into Republicans, and help to boost the GOP turnout of adults on Election Day.
"Fourth of July celebrations in the United States shape the nation's political landscape by forming beliefs and increasing participation, primarily in favor of the Republican Party," said the report from Harvard. [See political cartoons about the 2012 GOP field.]
"The political right has been more successful in appropriating American patriotism and its symbols during the 20th century. Survey evidence also confirms that Republicans consider themselves more patriotic than Democrats. According to this interpretation, there is a political congruence between the patriotism promoted on Fourth of July and the values associated with the Republican party. Fourth of July celebrations in Republican dominated counties may thus be more politically biased events that socialize children into Republicans," write Harvard Kennedy School Assistant Professor David Yanagizawa-Drott and Bocconi University Assistant Professor Andreas Madestam.