What Do Conservatives Actually Love About America? - Steve Shives

[TexasTowelie]

This political commentary critiques President Trump's response to a shooting involving an Afghan refugee, where he halted immigration from "third world countries" and made inflammatory statements about immigrants. The author argues that Trump and many conservatives don't genuinely love America because:

Main Arguments:

Scapegoating entire groups: Trump punished all Afghan refugees (including those who helped the U.S. military) based on one individual's crime, while white Americans never face collective suspicion for crimes committed by people who look like them.

Selective love of country: Conservatives claim to love America but show hostility toward large portions of its population (immigrants, minorities, refugees) and only embrace people "like them."

Rejection of history: Conservatives oppose teaching uncomfortable parts of American history (slavery, discrimination, indigenous genocide), preferring a sanitized version. The author cites conservative backlash to Ken Burns's American Revolution documentary as an example.

Loving an imaginary America: The author concludes that conservatives love an idealized, nostalgic concept of America rather than the real, diverse nation with its complex history.

Core message: True patriotism requires acknowledging both the good and bad aspects of your country and working to improve it, not fantasizing about an imaginary version that never existed.