With apologies to people who are actually retarded (I’m channeling Arthur Ravenel here), I honestly believe Republican talk show host Sean Hannity is legitimately stupid. It was Rush Limbaugh that first attracted me to talk radio as a teenager, and while the man who once supported Pat Buchanan for president in 1992 now lazily rehashes neoconservative themes for 3 hours daily, it is still clear that despite my disagreements - Limbaugh is no dope.

I would say the same of Glenn Beck, Neal Boortz, Michael Savage and a host of other cookie-cutter, copycat psuedo-conservatives that are now the norm on Republican talk radio. Occassionally, these guys still are able to apply critical thinking to the subject at hand.

Not Sean Hannity. His program offers no imagination, no examination of thought or even reinforcing first principles, but is simply 3 hours of GOP talking points and petty partisan bickering.

This recent spoof of Hannity by Stephen Colbert is a perfect example of the ideological navel-gazing this well-paid Republican hack seems to believe constitutes the whole of conservative philosophy. Not to mention, it sounds like a 3rd grader wrote it:  

Hannity’s “greatest nation on the face of planet earth” jargon immediately reminded me of the definition of patriotism once given by a true conservative, English author G.K. Chesterton. Compliments of the great Joseph Sobran:

“G.K. Chesterton once observed that Rudyard Kipling, the great poet of British imperialism, suffered from a “lack of patriotism.” He explained: “He admires England, but he does not love her; for we admire things with reasons, but love them without reasons. He admires England because she is strong, not because she is English.”

In the same way, many Americans admire America for being strong, not for being American. For them America has to be “the greatest country on earth” in order to be worthy of their devotion. If it were only the 2nd-greatest, or the 19th-greatest, or, heaven forbid, “a 3rd-rate power,” it would be virtually worthless.

This is nationalism, not patriotism. Patriotism is like family love. You love your family just for being your family, not for being “the greatest family on earth” (whatever that might mean) or for being “better” than other families. You don’t feel threatened when other people love their families the same way. On the contrary, you respect their love, and you take comfort in knowing they respect yours.”

Amen. Sobran’s entire piece on patriotism is well worth reading. Forward it to Sean Hannity. It might blow his mind.