Reply #3: The 'rugged individual narrative'

[Lucky Luciano]

I know exactly what you mean...I often called this "Macho Conservatism." You know the types - working class guys with beer bellies in sports bars chanting "USA USA USA USA!" while watching Iraq war coverage on the TV sets. This comprises a good chunk of b*sh's conservative base. These are the stereotypical blue collar guys that "patriotically" vote against their best interests because it is more "macho" to be conservative with all the rhetoric/propaganda that the conservatives have for the war, the military and their ilk.

I saw a prime example of this in Hollywood the other day. I was going to a club wehre some friends were DJing and along the way, there was a vigil at Ronald Reagan's star on the Walk of Fame. The guy who set it up was a poster child for the guy described above as he held his American flag upright and proud. I still have no idea why people get so worked up about symbols like the flag. True patriotism comes from something much deeper than a mere symbol.