Patriotism And Slogans

I was driving behind a (gas-guzzling) van today. It had a bumper sticker that read "Real Patriots Defend The Constitution." Makes sense to me. It took me a while to figure out this slogan is supposed to be anti-war. I think it also has something to do with The Patriot Act. Anyone disagree?

Now I'm post-modern enough to see patriotism as a neutral value, since being patriotic to Hitler or Stalin doesn't strike me as that noble. But at least the guy who put on the bumper sticker hadn't completely given up on being a patriotic American--a lot of people who vote like him find that notion troublesome.

Anyway, I checked to see if I could find similar slogans, and ran across a whole page of anti-war stuff, including the above, brought to you by Monterey Bay Educators Against War.

Some of their stuff is hopeless: "War Is Always A Mistake." Some of it is tiresome: "How Many Lives Per Gallon?" Some of it is intriguing: "What Your Flag Stands For Is Up To You." Some of it is dated: "Don't Blame Me, I Voted With The Majority!" Overall, it's pretty amusing. Check it out.