Pssst! I like your shirt!

Do you remember when, after 9/11, everyone had flags pasted on their cars and flying from their antennas? I had this really nice magnetic flag on the back of my truck. Unfortunately, it disappeared a few years after 2001 after I went through a car wash. I didn't notice that it was missing for a few days and by then, well, it was long gone from the car wash.

When I attempted to replace it, I couldn't find anything like it ANYWHERE! It was like a passing fad that was oh, so not now. I was so ticked off! I finally decided to hit the car stores and finally found a nice American flag sticker that replaced the magnetic one. It took me going to about 3 different auto stores before I found what I wanted.

It got me thinking. What happened to all that unbridled patriotism that resonated all over the country in the weeks following 9/11? Was it just a fad?

Last year, I attended a Tea Party event in Denton, TX on April 15th. I purchased a T-shirt that reads "Nope", featuring a take-off from Obama's hope logo. It's been in my closet for the last year and a half, until today.

I decided to wear the T-shirt this morning while meeting some family members that were visiting for the weekend, just before they left for the airport. As I was sitting at the Hampton Inn for breakfast with my visiting family, a stranger walked up to me, tapped me on the shoulder and whispered "I like your shirt".

After explaining to my family (mother, sister and two nieces) what he said and why, I was struck by the fact that someone acknowledged the sentiments of my T-Shirt, albeit rather submissively. Why?

Why did the patriotism exhibited in the weeks after 9/11 suddenly wane? Why do people still whisper their agreement toward a T-Shirt's message? What is it about conservatism that people are so timid about, yet so committed to?

Now is not the time to be timid. Now is not the time to hide your patriotism. Now is the time to fly the Gadsden flag and break out all your patriotic paraphernalia. After all, November 2nd is right around the corner.

I think I just figured out what T-shirt to wear when I vote. I'm hoping that when I do so, I'll hear "Pssst! I like your shirt!"