There's a not-so-fine line between opposing the current administration and celebrating its failure. The former is patriotic, the latter, not. The distinction seems clear to me. Although I intensely dislike this administration, I am not rooting against it. All things considered, I would rather they succeed. They just aren't.
I've seen it twice, now. People are putting troop death-toll tote-boards on their front lawns. Their point, ostensibly, is to "remember the troops," as if the unremitting media coverage of troop death is somehow lacking. These folks have appointed themselves our very public consciences. They care more and are better informed than you and me. One can almost imagine the eagerness with which they run out to change the numbers every time a roadside bomb goes off. After all, what are you doing to support the troops?
On campus last week, there was an enormous "remember the troops" booth on the central plaza. Students adopted a dead soldier and wore his dog tags for the rest of the day. I asked the organizers if they were remembering any troops who died someplace other than Iraq. Nah. I then asked about the very likely possibility that the soldier being memorialized wouldn't have wanted to be remembered in this way, to be exploited in a protest. They were unconcerned. Their sign should have said "Remember the troops...our way."
Gross. This public self-satisfaction seems like so much masturbation.