Winners and Losers, &c.

On patriotism, sedition, music, Valentine’s Day, and more

The Olympic freestyle skier Hunter Hess (Instagram)

You have read reams about patriotism, and I have written a ream or two. I will not belabor the subject now. One of the first articles I ever wrote here at Onward and Upward was about patriotism. Its title: “Patriotism, True and False.”

I am returning to the subject, briefly, because of Hunter Hess, an American athlete at the current Olympics. (Excellent name, “Hunter Hess.”)

At the outset of the Games, Hess said, “I think it brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now. It’s a little hard.” He continued, “There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of, and I think a lot of people aren’t.”

He was representing, he said, his family and friends “back home” and “all the things that I believe are good about the U.S.”

In a social-media post, President Trump called Hess, of course, “a real Loser”—capital “L” and all.

Hunter Hess sounds like a winner to me. Responding to Trump, he wrote,

I love my country.

There is so much that is great about America, but there are always things that could be better. One of the many things that makes this country so amazing is that we have the right and the freedom to point that out.

I could not agree more.

May I pause, briefly, for a language note? That phrase should be “One of the many things that make this country so amazing …” Because the verb goes with “things,” regardless of the “One,” see?

Bill Buckley would wearily make this point, and I wearily make it too. Anyway …

This is a time for elementary civics lessons—lessons that are a lot more important than language lessons. Loyalty, or obeisance, to the executive branch of the federal government is not the equivalent of patriotism. Loyalty, or obeisance, to the incumbent president is not the equivalent of patriotism.

It should not be necessary to point this out. But “should” has nothing to do with it.

***

Yesterday was Lincoln’s birthday. Are you familiar with this cartoon by H.T. Webster? It is one of our most moving:

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Horrific news from Iran. It is related here by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Narges Mohammadi, the 2023 peace laureate, who is an Iranian dissident, has been beaten and tortured almost to death.

A great woman, she is. Up against an evil regime. Raw, monstrous evil.

***

By now, you have read a great deal about Pam Bondi, no doubt. She is our attorney general, or rather, Donald Trump’s attorney general—the “Roy Cohn” he had long sought. Her recent testimony before Congress was a weird, abrasive spectacle.

Maybe I could make just a few points today.

Why bother to call cabinet officials as witnesses? They just perform for an audience of one—Trump.

John Mitchell would look at Pam Bondi and go, “Whoa. That’s the attorney general?”

William Barr, in comparison with his successor as Trump attorney general, is a titan of the law. (Barr was AG under both Bush 41 and Trump.)

Two seconds ago, the MAGA world was hot for the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about Jeffrey Epstein and his circle. All of a sudden, it’s “Never mind, nothing to see here, Democrat hoax, move on.”

Bondi accuses those who want the truth about Epstein & Co. of suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”

Ah, yes, our old friend “TDS.” I have a definition: “I don’t have an answer to your question or point. I’m in an awkward spot. Therefore I’ll wave it away by saying ‘TDS.’ Ha, I win!”

***

Ms. Bondi once portrayed herself as a warrioress against child trafficking. Have you seen this ad she cut?

***

In January 2021, ten Republicans voted to impeach President Trump. Quickly, they were all out of Congress, except for two. Republicans referred to the impeachers as the “Traitorous Ten.” I myself called them the “Faithful Ten” or the “Constitutional Ten.”

There is a new term: the “Seditious Six.” Trump, Defense Secretary Hegseth, and others call six Democrats “seditious” for reminding military personnel that they are not to obey illegal orders.

So, this is the deal: The Democrats—who include Senator Mark Kelly, a former combat pilot and astronaut—are seditionists while the January 6 rioters are great American patriots.

Funny how that works.

You want another Seditious Six? Six House Republicans voted to overturn Trump’s punitive tariffs on Canada.

Bless them.

(In music, we have the term “Les Six.” These were six composers working in Paris in the early part of the 20th century. They lived in Montparnasse, specifically. The foremost of those composers was Poulenc.)

***

On Tuesday night, the Renew Democracy Initiative, of which I am a senior resident fellow, held an event at the Ukrainian Institute of America, in New York. In 1999, I was there with Bill Buckley, attending an event featuring Robert Conquest, the great historian and man of letters who wrote about the “terror-famine”: the Kremlin’s assault on Ukraine in the 1930s.

I had occasion to write about that evening in 1999 two years ago: here.

This week, Garry Kasparov, the founder of the Renew Democracy Initiative, spoke about the Kremlin’s current assault on Ukraine. He often makes Western audiences uncomfortable, Kasparov does. He tells them things they are reluctant or loath to hear.

Two of them are these:

You cannot negotiate with someone like Putin. He will bide his time, at best. His goal is domination, and he will not stop short of it, as long as he’s in power.

Ukraine must win. Only Ukrainian victory can deliver security: for Europe and for broader swaths of the world.

***

Let’s have some music. Bonnie McElveen-Hunter is an entrepreneur, a diplomat (once ambassador to Finland), and a general pillar of communities. Since 2012, she has had an excellent habit: she commissions pieces of music in honor of her friends.

I have written about her, and this excellent habit, here. Very interesting (I think).

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There is a group—a new group—called Polyhymnia. It is “a collection of scholars, composers, and artists cultivating a space for the Beautiful.” Its president is Daniel Asia, the composer. I myself am a senior fellow. And we’re having an event—via Zoom—on Monday evening. President’s Day. Apparently, I’m to discuss this grand old land of ours and its culture—maybe its musical culture in particular.

The event, the discussion, is at 7 Eastern. One can sign up here.

***

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. Maybe I could leave you with a Valentine’s Day message? It comes from Jeremiah: “The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”