"Bedford Falls or Pottersville?"

Paul Mirengoff has written a fascinating piece in The Daily Standard in which he puts forth the theory that how one feels about one's country directly correlates to a willingness to defend it.

Mirengoff looks at historic examples of the left's reluctance to defend our country, including one liberal's criticism of our Cold War conduct as "panicky pugnacity," and then goes on to show that many of the current critics on the left don't simply disagree with foreign policy, they also express a loathing for our country -- witness Michael Moore calling his fellow Americans "the stupidest people in the world."

Mirengoff concludes: "Many modern liberals seem unable to say what kind of country they live in...The defense of Bedford Falls, for all of its flaws, would be a top priority; the primacy of defending Pottersville is less apparent."