Joe Henderson: Questioning America doesn’t mean you hate America

Marco Rubio.

One of the pillars that made America the greatest nation on Earth is that its citizens can freely point out flaws that keep it from being the greatest nation on Earth.

Oops. Did I just commit treason by suggesting certain parts of America might be less than perfect?

In Marco Rubio’s world, I might be guilty.

Rubio made even less sense than usual Wednesday during an appearance on “Fox & Friends.” Without factually backing up his point (we don’t need no stinking facts), he said a program at the University of Central Florida is “teaching our young students how to hate America.”

Huh?

He referred to a graduate certificate students can earn for completing a course called Social Justice In Public Service.

Oddly, he doesn’t like a program that prepares students for public service. After all, that’s the activity in which Rubio is involved as a U.S. Senator.

Here how UCF describes that program.

“Students will explore factors that contribute to inequity among various groups, with a focus on providing a theoretical background and methods to analyze social justice issues in public service.”

How does that teach anyone to hate America?

Students can take electives covering Women and Public Policy and Social Inequalities in Health. They can choose Peace Studies or Environmental Security. They can even study Leadership in Public Service.

Rubio might want to sign up for that last one. That’s because true leadership doesn’t mean trying to silence anything with which you might disagree.

Instead, he came up with this description of social justice for the Fox audience.

“It’s a theory that says the following,” he said: “The world is divided up between oppressors and the oppressed. And that’s the story of America in their mind — oppressors and the oppressed. OK? The system, our system of economics, our government, our laws, our educational system, everything.”

By oppressors, maybe slave owners? Or modern-day politicians who make it harder for minorities to vote?

Sometimes, oppressors just take a knee — and not as Colin Kaepernick did. The world saw what Derek Chauvin did to George Floyd, while three other officers stood and watched.

People took to the streets in protest all over the country, including in Florida. The state’s response was to pass an anti-riot bill that critics say could have a chilling effect on the First Amendment right of assembly.

According to the Mapping Police Violence database, police killed at least 229 Black people since the day Floyd died. Shouldn’t people demand answers about that?

America gets better when its people question authority.

If college students didn’t take to the streets in the 1960s and into the 1970s, the Vietnam War might never have ended. Protesters heard the same junk back then that Rubio says now.

You were a Commie if you questioned the war. America, love it or leave it.

Meanwhile, our government sent thousands of young Americans to their deaths — not to mention the appalling loss of life by the Vietnamese.

These protesters, by the way, more than likely came through a public school system that stressed red, white, and blue. Mine did. We started each day with the Pledge of Allegiance and learned songs like “America The Beautiful.”

Vietnam is just one example of why citizens must question their government. Hell, Republicans do it to Joe Biden every day, and that’s just fine. After all, a lot of us used our free speech rights to excoriate Donald Trump.

Rubio says, “the faculty in a lot of these universities, frankly, are filled with just nutty, crazy people who, now, you can’t even fire them unless they murder some people.”

Well, Rubio serves close to people like Marjorie Taylor-Greene and her merry band of loonies who spread the lie about a stolen election. I guess that makes him an authority on nutty, crazy people.

So, Senator, I’m glad UCF offers this program.

I don’t believe the vast majority of young people hate America, nor do I believe UCF teaches that.

And just we’re clear, I don’t hate America either.

I’m not a fan of self-righteous, pandering politicians, though.