S2 E35 Patriotism for our Republic

Episode discussion topics <ul><li>We put the spotlight on what it means to be a patriot in our republic. What patriotism looks like in our republic juxtaposition to insurrection. Don't get them confused!</li> <li>The ongoing sliding scale of democratic self-rule and why we allow it to oscillate between freedom and authority. Self-rule is a messy business and when times are tough, we tend to sacrifice our civil liberties and create autocracies among the states. That is a fear response that we must resist.</li> <li>A recent ruling from one of the initial cases coming to bear against the insurrectionists on January 6, 2021. In <a href='https://edition.cnn.com/2021/08/04/politics/amy-berman-jackson-capitol-riot-defendant-patriotism/index.html?utm_content=2021-08-04T22%3A29%3A05&utm_source=fbCNN&utm_medium=social&utm_term=link'>Judge Amy Berman Jackson's words</a> while sentencing an insurrectionist, "Patriotism is loyalty to country, loyalty to the Constitution, not loyalty to a head of state. That is the tyranny we rejected on July 4." Read in: King of England be damned, this is the United States!</li> <li>The dangers of political parties are showing their colors. Please check out <a href='https://citizendogood.com/cpp-s1-s6-the-politics-of-party/'>S1 S6 | The Politics of Party</a>. Elections, like court cases, are best designed to bring any contest to a conclusion. It is not always fair, but it should be essentially by the book. When loyalty to a party or one person or the idea of one person is an affront to operating our system of representative government. The founders were leery of kings and irrational laws and sycophants alike.</li> <li>Following the rules is very patriotic and if we do not like the rules, it is in our power to change them. It is in fact our responsibility as citizens to sponsor a system that calls foul balls and enforces the strike-outs. This is the same spirit in which we play sports and expect one another to not be a poor loser.  This is how we should view and respect our system of laws.