It’s a year since the Afghanistan withdrawl and we hear that if the U.S. had left a residual force of 2500, plus Nato and contractors, all would be well there. I’m no expert, but it strikes me as a case of magical thinking.

What irony – the Republican Party wants to “smash the state,” scrap the “rule of law” and “defund the FBI!”

Internationalism shouldn’t be at war with national feeling and pride, with a genuine patriotism. To act as if they are cedes political ground to the false patriots of the MAGA movement unnecessarily. The latter wrap themselves up in the flag and espouse patriotic feeling, but we shouldn’t allow them to do that without challenging their hypocrisy and dishonesty.

At the same time, we should unhesitatingly declare by our words and actions that we believe in a patroitism – in love of country – that is grounded in democracy, equality, peace, and solidarity. It is us – not them – that upholds, albeit in difficult conditions, everything that is best, beautiful, and liberatory in our country’s past and fights to embed that in our present and future.

Republicans claim to be fighting the “elite,” corporate and otherwise. But there is nothing in their legislative or political agenda that would suggest that they are. Talk is cheap!

Genuine patriots will vote Democratic this fall.