The worst part of the NYT merger is the politicization of patriotism

On Tuesday, the Times published another smear piece to Justice Samuel Alito to accuse the conservative judge as a partisan ideologue corrupted by far-right politics. The evidence presented to suggest that Justice Alito is a right-wing provocateur incapable of being an impartial jurist? An “Appeal to Heaven” flag, also known as the pine flag, with historical roots in the American Revolution, flew outside his New Jersey home on Long Beach Island last summer.

“Last summer, two years after an upside-down American flag was flown outside the Virginia home of Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., another provocative symbol was displayed at his New Jersey vacation home ,” the Times reported. “This time, it was the 'Appeal to Heaven' flag, which, like the inverted US flag, was carried by rioters to the Capitol on January 6, 2021.”

oh yes The flag is now considered a symbol of extremism because a few people brought the flag to the Capitol for an hours-long demonstration three years ago. If only The New York Times applied the same rules to the militant anarchists who terrorized the nation in 2020 under the rainbow banners of identity politics.

The New York Times will publish a follow-up story describing the extremism exposed in offices of Congress hanging the “pride flag of progress?” What's going on at Department of State? O K-12 classrooms? Should the generic rainbow pride flag be considered a symbol of virulent extremism?

No, although some who are obsessed with colors are acting more and more extreme. The media, however, has a toxic habit of tying the masses to the loudest voices that have embraced their respective banners, whether it's a couple of crazy teachers obsessed with virtue signaling or a group of would-be revolutionaries on 6 January

According to The New York Times, the manufactured flag debacle is now being drawn hysterical headlines through the corporate press is asking Justice Alito to recuse himself from several high-profile cases critical to thwarting Donald Trump's third bid for the White House. Last week, the Times published a separate one history highlighting an upside-down flag that signaled a struggling nation three years ago amid President Joe Biden's tumultuous inauguration month.

The tampered flag, however, was brought in by Alito's wife after an argument with a neighbor over a profane anti-Trump sign, and there is no evidence to the contrary. Even if justice had hung the flag himself, it would be without reasons by recusal Still, the most dangerous aspect of the New York Times' latest flag hysteria isn't even the attacks on the Supreme Court, but the politicization of patriotism itself.

Alito's banner in “Appeal to Heaven” was designed by George Washington's personal secretary and was adopted by the colonial military in 1775, becoming the official flag of the Massachusetts Navy in 1776. The text was inspired by the British political philosopher John Locke, whose ideas become the basis of American independence. According to The New York Times, “Justice Alito declined to answer questions about the beach house flag, including what it was meant to convey and how he was handling his duties as a justice.”

The fact that The New York Times is writing to millions of readers who probably live in online echo chambers that the Pine Tree flag “broadcasts” anything But a patriotic message of democratic resilience justifies a waved American flag in peril on its own. And it's not just the pine flag that has now been written off as an overt symbol of extremism. Almost everyone else flag with historical roots in the American struggle for independence has now become the target of far-left attacks as banners of radical opposition. A nation steeped in self-loathing, where patriotism itself is eliminated as an extreme, will not survive as a governable nation. And even if the nation survives, it will not be “united.”

Last year's Gallup poll reported the number of American adults who say they are “extremely proud” to be American remains near an all-time low, at just 39 percent. The number is down more than 30 percent from 20 years ago, when 70 percent said they were “extremely proud” to be American. That number could be expected to be 100 percent on Monday, when the nation collectively recalls the nearly 1.4 million who died in the service of our country. Meanwhile, Flag Day is coming up on June 14. The New York Times better prepare for an outbreak of extremism.