A New Angle on Patriotism

I don’t read USA Today, but sometimes an article from that paper shows up in the DOD’s Earlybird news aggregator. This morning there was an article by Rick Hampson about how the Iraq war, entering its third year next month, has affected folks on this side of the pond.

First of all, I don’t know any of these people:
“Jackie Sanders, a 58-year-old widow who works at the Wal-Mart in Prairie du Chien, Wis., notices “a general sense of foreboding. People cry easily. The tears are right there, all the time.”
Half of those interviewed in the latest USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll say the war has made them cry, and almost nine in 10 say it has made them pray.”

However, I know lots of these people:
For most people, however, the war is no more than a yellow ribbon magnet on the back of a car, a killed-in-action bracelet, a photo in the paper or an image on the screen.

And too many of these people:
“We're programmed to be emotional or sympathetic to what we see on TV,” he says. “It's almost a call-and-response kind of thing. It's more talk than anything else. I don't see fistfights over the war. It's more about how I'm going to decorate my truck.”

But I don’t think I know enough of these people:
“We have the luxury of being over here, griping about how the war's going. That's not the reality for the people over there,” says Carol Lee of Thibodaux, La. Ornstil remembers growing up in Brooklyn during World War II seeing ration stamps and service stars in the windows of homes of families like hers, those with men at war.
“Now I think we should be more involved in sacrifice — less gas consumption,” she says. “But I don't see much effect here, except for a lot of strong feelings.”

Not that I think people should feel guilty all the time. But I think we’re missing a huge opportunity here. The environmentalists (like myself) could get together with the pro-patriotism crowd (people like myself), and we can start up a new campaign. Something along the lines of, “your gas-guzzler is unpatriotic! If you support the troops, buy a more efficient vehicle!” And since a lot of communities are powered with natural gas- or oil-fired power plants, we can say, “Support the troops by turning off the lights when you leave the room and setting your thermostat at 80 (or 68 depending on the season).”

I’m no marketing major, but I assume we could find one to craft a really excellent advertising campaign around that theme. This seems like a great idea to me. Let’s face it, gas prices haven’t forced people to abandon their SUVs and use public or alternative transportation yet (though us squishy liberal types had hoped they would). I think gas is going to have to get a lot more dear before it forces that; we’ll constrain other discretionary spending instead, and that’s not something we should do in an economy that’s 70% based on consumption. The only way we’re going to get people to reduce gasoline and energy use is through public shame and humiliation. The patriotism angle might be the best one to produce that sense of shame so lacking in modern society.