The MeidasTouch Podcast - Navy Vet Ken Harbaugh CALLS OUT fake patriotism of Jan. 6 rioters

Episode Date: July 21, 2022

In this episode of The Mighty, Meidas contributor and Navy veteran Ken Harbaugh discusses the meaning of patriotism during a time when MAGA extremists have tried to co-opt it. Ken grew up in a military family. As a third generation fighter pilot, Ken always had an American flag flying outside his house. But now, extremists on the right have covered themselves in the symbols of country. Not only do these extremists not know what true patriotism is but they engage in the most unpatriotic and anti-American conduct. In this episode of The Mighty, Ken discusses what we can do. The Mighty is a new program on The MeidasTouch Podcast channel where we highlight the incredible commentary of Meidas Contributors. New episodes of The Mighty are released on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. New episodes of the world famous MeidasTouch Podcast featuring the Meiselas brothers release new episodes on Tuesday and Friday mornings on this channel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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please contact Connex Ontario at 1-866-531-2600 to speak to an advisor free of charge. BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Hey there, this is Jordy Maiselis, co-founder of Midas Touch, and you are listening to The Mighty. When I'm not doing podcasts with my brothers, where they rarely let me speak, whatever, I host this podcast on the Midas Touch channel on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, where I highlight some of the best commentary, rants, responses, and reactions of your favorite Midas Touch channel on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, where I highlight some of the best commentary, rants, responses, and reactions of your favorite Midas contributors.

On this episode of The Mighty, we hear from third-generation fighter pilot Ken Harbaugh. On this episode, Ken talks about the meaning of patriotism and the symbols of patriotism, like our great flag. How is it that radical right extremists who hate what this country stands for, which they show daily with their despicable and depraved behavior, drape themselves in the flag and other symbols of patriotism? It is an honor to hear from Navy vet Ken Harbaugh on these issues specifically.

Ken, take it away. Ken from Cleveland here. I've been watching these January 6 hearings and it's got me thinking a lot about patriotism. I grew up in a military family, third generation military pilot myself, and we almost always had an American flag flying outside our house. But it feels different now, the way extremists on the right have covered themselves in the language and the symbols of patriotism, pretending like they own it, when most of them have no clue what real patriotism is. You see it in the hearings and in the pictures from January 6th, the way American flagpoles were used as weapons, or how the Confederate flag, which represents the opposite of patriotism, was being waved alongside the flag I fought for and paraded through the halls of Congress. With all that in the air, it's getting harder to be unapologetically patriotic.

It's almost as if the flag itself has changed. I've got friends who, when they see a pickup truck flying a giant American flag off the back, they get nervous. And I don't blame them, because we're at this place, as a country, where political violence is a thing again. And the extreme right has done an incredibly effective job taking over the conversation about patriotism. When I was growing up, a crowd chanting USA was celebrating something. It was an inclusive

thing. There was joy in it. Today, nine times out of ten, a crowd chanting USA is angry about something or they're threatening someone. Rewatch the tapes of the January 6th riots or honestly any Trump rally and you'll see what I mean. And all of this is happening while basic rights are being stripped away. I remember just this past 4th of July, after Roe v. Wade was overturned, realizing that my kids are going to have fewer rights than my generation did. And there's this feeling in my house, and I know a lot of others share it, that it's just getting harder to express patriotism in the ways we used to. So it's tempting to say, fine, they can have it. I don't need a flag to prove I love my country. Which is true.

There are a lot of ways to show one's patriotism. And believe it or not, I think even taking a knee can do that. But I'm not going to let the extremists define what patriotism is. They can't have that. America is far from perfect, but it's the promise of America we should be fighting for. That's real patriotism. Which means it's super important for people like me, white, male, and privileged, to rethink the patriotism we grew up with. In my case, it was patriotism born of gratitude.

I joined the Navy because I was grateful for everything my country had given me. I learned in the Navy that the promise of America is not doled out equally or fairly. So many people I served alongside joined not because of everything the country had done for them, but because they were demanding their country do better, demanding that America live up to its promise. And that is the kind of patriotism I aspire to, acknowledging that America is imperfect but worth fighting for. I sure am not going to give the extremists, the insurrectionists, a pass on abusing this flag and what it should represent. That, if you want to get some Midas wristbands, Midas t-shirts, sweaters, you name it. The greatest Midas Touch gear lives at store.midastouch.com. That's

store.midastouch.com. Unapologetically pro-democracy. Thank you again for listening and shout out to the Midas Mighty.