Obama's patriotism...

I thought that Obama's speech on patriotism Monday was quite good. There were a few parts that I didn't find particularly solid, but there were just as many or more paragraphs of fairly strong oratory. Perhaps the most salient paragraph to me, was the following:

Of course, precisely because America isn't perfect, precisely because our ideals constantly demand more from us, patriotism can never be defined as loyalty to any particular leader or government or policy. As Mark Twain, that greatest of American satirists and proud son of Missouri, once wrote, "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it." We may hope that our leaders and our government stand up for our ideals, and there are many times in our history when that's occurred. But when our laws, our leaders or our government are out of alignment with our ideals, then the dissent of ordinary Americans may prove to be one of the truest expression of patriotism.

I have to admit that the line between patriotism and blind obedience has seemed blurred to me in the recent past, and I commend Obama for attempting to cleanse the word of it's most assiduous (and blind) users. I also applaud Obama's attempt at showing that being critical of certain leaders, policies, and laws does not make one unpatriotic. I strongly believe that this questioning of authority and rules is a critically important part of the "American Idea," whereby we allow public discourse to flow freely -- without burning those at the stake with whom we disagree.