The 2 most powerful vocabularies in the US- Faith and Patriotism.
Ben Jealous of the NAACP made that statement last night and he's right. As a Vietnam War protestor and a recovering Catholic, I became very leery of arguments cloaked in religious belief or national pride. But Jealous makes a great point and it provides some insight into the power of so many RW arguments, stupid or hypocritical as they usually are.
As I think about my opposition to military adventures and the need to care for the poor, I hear echoes of what the nuns preached to us. When I think of my commitment to civil rights and voting rights, these beliefs are informed and shaped by the true American Exceptionalism espoused in the Constitution.
I tend to couch my advocacy of Liberal ideas in the vocabulary of science and rationality. I won't abandon that approach but I will take Jealous's thought to heart and proudly add religious and patriotic themes from my upbringing to my repertoire.