You Can Put Mascara On A Pig, But You Still Can't Make A Purse Out Of Her

This post by Daniel Larison is right on.

Let me interject here that this post is hosted by the all-new The American Scene blog. It was a very entertaining blog to read, back when it was just Reihan and Ross posting about, well, whatever. Now Ross moved on to The Atlantic, and Reihan has recruited about a phalanx of great conservative writers to post on all manner of topics. If you don't read any other conservative blogs, this one is a very good place to start, and probably stop. You won't find much that's being said on the wingnut end of the spectrum, but if you really want to know what they're saying, stop reading my blog and go listen to Limbaugh or something. But, reading TAS, you will have your mind opened to some new, intellectually honest conservative ideas.

Anyhow, back to Larison's post. I've felt for a long time that it is still absolutely true that America is the best country on earth to live in. The variety of opportunities, the general open-ness of the society, the beauty of the landscape, and the youthful vigor of the culture give it the adaptability and strength such that more things are possible here than anyplace else on the planet. Although, I should add, I wish our women were taller, like the Netherlands. And the Swiss still own our ass in chocolate and clocks. But hey, no one is perfect, right?

But loving your country, and thinking so highly of it, doesn't preclude the opportunity to criticize it and point out its flaws. Indeed, I believe that a requisite of true patriotism is open acknowledgement of your country's character, both in its best and worst lights. And, right now, one of our country's worst points is our government, specifically our foreign policy. That's not going to get fixed unless it is acknowledged, and McCain pointing out that America is still a great place to live doesn't alter the fact that our foreign policy seems to be designed to make that a less likely possibility in the future.