July 4 – Patriotism to Protect and Defend the Planet; An Alternative to the Right Wing Usurpation of Patriotism; What the Founding Fathers Meant by Patriotism

We begin on this 4th of July with a conversation on the meaning of patriotism and the possibility that a deeper form of patriotism is required to protect and defend planet earth that is threatened by climate change from global warming. Robert Jensen, a professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas and author of “Arguing for Our Lives: A User’s Guide to Constructive Dialog” joins us. He has an article at YES! Magazine “Get Apocalyptic: Why Radical in the New Normal”.

Part 2

Then we speak with George Lakoff, Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics at UC Berkeley and author of “Don’t Think of an Elephant”. We discuss the usurpation of patriotism by the right wing in America and whether qualities other than militarism, chauvinism and jingoism can be celebrated on the 4^th of July such as empathy, community, charity and generosity.

Part 3

Then finally we speak with a government whistleblower, Peter Van Buren, a veteran Foreign Service Officer who wrote about the Iraq reconstruction fiasco in “We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People”. He was subsequently stripped of his security clearance and diplomatic credentials by the State Department. We discuss what the founding fathers meant by patriotism and how much today’s government is acting like Imperial Britain in stifling dissent.

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