Sexy Uncle Sam outfit: the future of patriotism

Last season, in an episode of NBC's sitcom "Community," the dean of a community college announces that Vice President Joe Biden will be stopping by on a tour. In his excitement he also announces he will be borrowing his sister's Uncle Sam outfit, complete with plunging neck line and mid-thigh-length, figure-hugging shorts.

Let that image sink in.  A tall, lanky man in the above mentioned sexy-Uncle-Sam outfit.

Patriotism has become something reviled, like a decrepit, wrinkly cliché, like the kitschy Uncle Sam outfit.

But it wasn't that long ago that patriotism became the hip thing, especially after Sept. 11, 2001.

Flags were everywhere.

People enlisted in the military.

Before, if people attached an American flag to each rear-window on a huge, mud-encrusted 4-wheel drive pickup, society would cheer them on.

Now, these people are glared at as unintelligent and super-conservative hicks.

This disdain can also be seen in satirical shows, such as South Park and Family Guy.

The "South Park" episode "Ladder to Heaven" makes fun of Alan Jackson for making money off of his song "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)."  A song that was once considered the epitome of the grief our nation felt.

"Family Guy" directly attacked politicians who used Sept. 11 improperly in the episode "It Takes a Village Idiot, and I Married One," where Lois panders for votes from the simpleton crowd by just saying the date Sept. 11.

However, our country's disdain for patriotism comes down to a lack of faith in our government and the path we are going down as a nation.

In an early August study by the Pew Research Center, 79 percent of the public "[is] dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country."

Further, 86 percent of the public was angered by the actions of the federal government.

So this country's population is not very happy with what this country has become, leading to even lower amounts of patriotic enthusiasm.

Consider the World War II era compared to the Vietnam era.

World War II is considered the greatest generation in regards to patriotism, but civil unrest and a distrust in the establishment led to the anti-patriotism of the Vietnam era.

Then we repeated the cycle, leading to 2001 and the current situation.

 If we see love of one's country as negative, we need to find a way to change our society to a point where we can be proud to be Americans.