Unfortunately, it is very difficult to extract American patriotism from American fascism. They’re tightly interwoven.
Nazi concentration camps were inspired by US Indian Reservations; the Nuremberg laws were inspired by Jim Crow. The fascists of the original America First movement were highly influential until Pearl Harbor. The roots of American fascism go all the way back to the 3/5ths Compromise.
Even a noble exercise like NASA is not immune. The US space program was a spin-off of the nuclear arms race; it was built upon a foundation of giving wealth, fame and impunity to nazis like Von Braun.
The Trumpists do not respect the symbols of American patriotism when they are opposed. Remember “I like heroes who weren’t captured”? And Khazir Khan?
Just this week, we have this:
And:
And:
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Unfortunately, there’s a history to this sort of thing.
The pre-WWII German and Austrian Jewish community tried to defuse bigotry through overt patriotism; they volunteered for the army in WWI at higher rates than Christians did. But Jewish veterans were not exempt when the fascists gained power; instead, they were labelled as traitors and blamed for past defeats.
