When I saw the first pickup truck roll through Washington State University Vancouver with the two huge American flags waving from the back, I became angry. Our family is a military family. My husband is celebrating his 20-year active-duty anniversary, and just two years away from retirement. We have been together for almost 18 of those years.
We don’t own an American flag. You will never see my husband in uniform outside of work. Our patriotism is quiet, but very meaningful to us. Our children know what their dad does for a living, and why. Our oldest has grown to understand that sometimes Dad misses birthdays, holidays, and basketball games. The goodbyes are hard, but reunions are better than any present Santa can bring.
When groups like this one drape themselves in the flag, and use patriotism to justify their divisiveness, it feels like stolen valor. To riff off Lloyd Bentsen’s famous quote from the 1988 vice presidential debate, I know patriots. They’re no patriots.
