I Love My Country and Learn to Do It

The super patriotism machoism is not something that just swaggers around in any direction. It's directed toward very particular specific political goals, he says. Reagan isn't just getting off in irrelevant things when he talks about flag salutes and prayers in the schools, writes Peter Bergen. He wants to internalize within kids at the first grade level, if you will. One of the key functions of super patriotism is to blur the differences in class interests in our society, argues Bergen.