Saturday, January 27, 2007

Dogmatic Patriotism- A lesson from Camden Yards

DISCLAIMER: This may anger a person or two, but if you are one of those, please think carefully about what I am about to say. No disrespect is intended to anyone. All I intend is a short treatise on dogmatic thought, brought to you by the Baltimore Orioles and the letter O.


I am about to recount to you an incident that was so surreal, and yet so offensive, that I have stewed over it from time to time for the better part of a year. The thoughts it sparks in me take multiple forms:

1- Dogmatism in any form is wrong, especially when the rule you dogmatically follow is not actually a rule.

2- Don't poke me in the head.

I will now take you on a lovely journey in the second person, to get you into the scene.

Imagine a bright sunny summer day, with temperatures in the mid-90s. You are a week away from marital bliss, and your fiancee has just completed the Columbia IronGirl Triathlon (and has made you quite proud to be marrying such a woman). You are already most of the way to Baltimore, so why not see a ballgame? As you meander toward the ballpark, your thoughts turn to hot dogs, a nice cold soda (or beer, if that's your thing), and the crack of the bat. You sidle up to the ticket window, and purchase tickets in the second row of the upper deck, close behind home plate. It is a perfect vantage point to watch the most beautiful of athletic endeavors.

As you arrive and sit down, the annoucer comes over the loudspeaker, and says something approximating the following:

"Ladies and Gentlemen. Please rise and remove your caps as we honor America with the singing of our National Anthem."

What follows is a lovely rendition of that beautiful poem, later put to song, written so many years before only a scant mile or two from where you sit. As the last note fades away, you sit back and relax to watch a few innings of our National Pastime.

A moment or two pass, and whatever should arrive, but the Seventh Inning Stretch. The announcer again comes over the loudspeaker, and says the following:

"Ladies and Gentlemen. Please rise as we honor our country with the singing of 'God Bless America'."

You take note, as you rise to your feet, that the instruction has changed slightly from when you heard it earlier, in that there is no mention of removing your cap. However, as the first notes waft across the Yard, somebody behind you POKES YOU IN THE HEAD. As you turn, a fat man with a scraggly beard tells you that you must take off your hat for the song.

Your reaction is, "I don't have to take off my hat for God Bless America." His retort, in its entirety:

"Well, I was in the military so..."

In order not to cause a scene, you take off your hat, but you seethe internally for the rest of the game.

OK, I'm out of the second person. It is tiring to write that way. Anyway, the thoughts that were flying through my head:

- There is no rule to remove your hat for "God Bless America!" The announcer distinctly did not ask everyone to remove their caps.

- How f---ing rude of this guy! He POKED ME IN THE HEAD!

- What kind of reason for doing something is "Well, I was in the military so..."? I appreciate the patriotism of those who have served. However, how does removing one's baseball cap make me more patriotic? And how does being in the military make you the arbiter of all things patriotic?

This little story came to mind again in the last few days, after I saw something on the news that disturbed me. NBC interviewed several soldiers in Iraq who said they were tired of hearing about people that support the troops but don't support the war. They ask, how can you support me and not support the job I am doing?

Well, the answer to that is simple: WE DON'T WANT YOU TO DIE. And I understand that those serving feel that the sacrifice others have made will be in vain if we do not succeed in Iraq. But it will be worse if we know it is hopeless but we dogmatically follow a false notion, that we can actually quell the violence in Iraq. It is the same principle that caused the gentleman at the ballgame to POKE ME IN THE HEAD. Patriotism is not about listening to rules or following orders that others put forth (especially if those rules are in your own head and nowhere else), but following the ideas and goals put forth at the inception of your country. In our case, not only the right to criticize a war, but the right to not be poked in the head.

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