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In reply to the discussion: Pres.Obama proclaims May 1 as Loyalty Day [View all]enlightenment
(8,830 posts)Very 1950s in its tone. As one who was forced to sign a "loyalty oath" before I could teach, I am opposed to government imposing a top-down model of patriotism that blithely ignores the very real problems that citizens face and asks them to embrace political theatre.
"Loyalty" Day implies that those who choose not to exhibit the approved public sentiment - flying the flag or pledging allegiance - are not loyal. Disloyal.
Nasty stuff, actually. This is one of the first things that totalitarian governments do; encourage appropriate public displays of loyalty to the nation and - by extension - the leadership, to create an "us versus them" group-think mentality. I'm not saying this would happen; only that this proclamation echoes those darker episodes in history.