The last day that I had my American flag flying in front of my house was January 20, 2025. For those that are not into remembering dates, that was at or just before the inauguration of our dear tin-pot dictator. I warmingly refer to him as McDump for obvious reasons. Everyone is entitled to their freedom of speech and according to Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), ruling that the First Amendment protects speech, even hate speech, unless it is “directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action.” Other cases that reinforced this decision are R.A.V. v. St. Paul (1992) and Virginia v. Black (2003) that further refined hate speech interactions.
I knew in January that what has taken place in the last 9 months was actually going to happen because the GOP freaking published it to the world. I’m not surprised or shocked about anything that this “administration” has attempted to put into place. My patriotism is on life support; I don’t recognize the country that I’ve now spent decades living in but have started to sign onto the growing resistance. Since I’ve never been a huge proponent to protest, especially violent protest, I am resisting in my own way. Whether it makes a difference or not isn’t the purpose of resisting, it’s the action of resisting and believing that a difference can be made. For example, I cancelled Hulu and Disney+ the very next morning after Kimmel was cancelled, now that trend has exploded and Disney is looking at $4 billion (so far) in losses. I was excited about a new Tron movie, but not anymore, I will eventually see it when it’s freely available on Tubi. I will also be resisting through the voting booth and get out the vote volunteering to help shift Congress back to Democratic control. If the GOP keeps on this course, it won’t be too difficult honestly.
These MAGA members think they are being patriots through their actions and words. When in reality, they bear more resemblance to nationalists than patriots. I’m a patriot, I choose to support programs that help and lift citizens up because it’s the right thing to do morally. A nationalist will place their nation (or religion) above all else where a patriot loves their country and everyone in it. A nationalist also ties their loyalty to the state and it’s power, often violating democratic principles, where a patriot respects their country, laws, and principles. The largest difference though is how a patriot is able to criticize the government when it fails those principles where a nationalist will reject and criticize any level of disloyalty.
Loyalty to your country should be tied to ideals such as freedom, justice, or democracy and dismiss and punish blind allegiance. We are at a fork in the road, two sides of a singular fight, both equally matched and both has the potential to outmaneuver the other. The side that wins is the side that will determine the next few decades of this country and if the wrong side wins, I fear that the United States will just be a footnote in history similar to the Mayans or the Roman Empire.
I’m not putting my flag up for the foreseeable future.
Life Between 0 and 1 
Let’s have a discussion!