“Performative patriotism” is a fancy way of describing what my father — a veteran of World War II who rarely spoke about his service — called “jelly-bellied flag flappers.” Dad always laughed at those phonies, but we now suffer a president who is exactly that type, only worse. And Donald Trump’s flag-flapping fakery is no joke.
A performative patriot is someone who, like Trump, oversells his supposed love of country, his reverence for the Stars and Stripes and, especially, his indignation at those whom he suspects of lacking his deep fervor. Such a figure will, like Trump, attempt to market these counterfeit emotions for his own benefit. And like Trump, that loud jingo is someone whose character will lead to a betrayal of American values.
Sooner or later, the true nature of the performative patriot inevitably emerges. Americans have observed this unwholesome process with Trump, whose fascistic impulses were all too plainly displayed from the beginning. Yet many Americans, including more than a few of those reporting on him for media outlets, turned their gaze away from the evidence of his perfidy. Continue reading.