Patriotic Correctness

A man literally and vigorously flag waving at a protest. Judging by his shirt, he is protesting not being Proud to be American

Exaggerated patriotism is only the beginning of Patriotic Correctness. Browbeating of political opponents for not being patriotic, and a chilling effect on opponents and allies alike who might venture criticism. Propaganda techniques, techniques of promoting ideologies, are used to state that ideologies are essentially patriotic, and that opposition to the ideologies is unpatriotic.

Propaganda increases exponentially in times of war, and the various Wars declared by the US (War on Drugs and War on Terror and every War there is a Czar for) are no exception. There was a tendency to use the term Flag waver as a compliment for genuine nationalistic pride during WWII, with its 'don't you know there's a war on' attitude and numerous legal provisions to silence critics with censorship, but the use of the term may possibly be growing again

The Patriot Act's very name is an indication of the use of propaganda techniques typical of Patriotic correctness, in this case, Propaganda#Appeal to authority and Propaganda#Bandwagon techniques to establish supporting it as a required duty. A phrase from the act adds a requirement for support for minorities to the already established requirement for support for emergency services (which was soon to be followed by support for military personnel, see Pot calling the kettle red#Greater good):

Many Arab Americans and Muslim Americans have acted heroically during the attacks on the United States, including Mohammed Salman Hamdani

See Also

• Reichstag Fire Act
• Enabling Act