Journalists’ reluctance to display American patriotism spans decades

When I was a member of the White House press corps, it was easily observable that reporters felt they could not say the “Pledge of Allegiance” with other Americans at the White House. That, somehow, compromised their neutrality. This inaction suggested that American reporters shouldn’t show appreciation for their country enshrining freedom of the press. That’s a lack of gratitude, not just a lack of patriotism. 

For the broadcast media, the feeling that they weren’t rooting for America was first underlined in their opposition to the Vietnam War. This was crystallized with CBS anchor Walter Cronkite declaring from Saigon in 1968 that America was going to lose, “that the only rational way out then will be to negotiate, not as victors.” Cronkite had been over-praised as the essence of objectivity, but politicians feared his persuasive power. Media power to sway the country was more satisfying than patriotism. 

Journalism is poised against patriotism. Journalists disdain patriotism as “my country right or wrong,” and they always want to be right. They associate patriotism with warmongers pushing for endless wars. 

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In March 1989, the media’s controversial ingratitude toward America was spotlighted by a PBS show called “Ethics In America.” Professor Charles Ogletree created a scenario where America was fighting a fictional country called North Kosan. The enemy was going to assault American troops. He asked: does a reporter have a “higher duty as an American citizen” to warn the troops? Without hesitation, CBS journalist Mike Wallace said no. “No, you don’t have higher duty … you’re a reporter.” ABC anchor Peter Jennings first said he would notify them, then changed his mind: “I think he’s right too. I chickened out.” 

CBS anchor Walter Cronkite was feared by politicians. (Photo by Ben Martin/Getty Images)

In an April 1990 primetime special, Jennings clearly signaled America was not a benign force in the world. “The United States is deeply involved in Cambodia again. Cambodia is on the edge of hell again.” 

September 11, 2001, may have united the country for a few weeks, but not on ABC. Six days after thousands of Americans died, ABC “Politically Incorrect” host Bill Maher argued that the terrorists who drove planes into buildings were more courageous than American pilots: “We have been the cowards. Lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away, that’s cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, not cowardly.”  

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Two weeks later, “CBS Evening News” producer Dick Meyer wrote a commentary on CBSNews.com on the discomfort with the American flag. “Our 10-year-old daughter asked her mother if we could put a flag on our car. My wife reluctantly agreed, but hasn’t procured the flag yet. … My wife essentially shares our daughter’s feelings. But for her, the symbol of the flag was appropriated in her youth by counter-protesters who used it to deny the patriotism of the war’s opponents. Flag-waving feels aggressive to her.” Burning the flag isn’t aggressive. Waving it is. 

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Flag pins were still offending PBS host Bill Moyers, who uncorked a pompous commentary on his program “Now” on the taxpayer-funded network. The flag’s been hijacked and turned into a logo – the trademark of a monopoly on patriotism. … When I see flags sprouting on official lapels, I think of the time in China when I saw Mao’s Little Red Book on every official’s desk, omnipresent and unread.” 

Four years later, Moyers was still at it on his PBS show, now called “Moyers & Company.” This time, he ripped the pledge: “The next time you say the ‘Pledge of Allegiance.’ … Remember, it’s a lie, a whopper of a lie. We coax it from the mouths of babes for the same reason our politicians wear their flag pins on their lapels. It makes the hypocrisy go down easier.” 

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Also in 2007, the ABC News program “The View” featured Rosie O’Donnell suggesting we were the terrorists: “I just want to say something: 655,000 Iraqi civilians are dead. Who are the terrorists?…If you were in Iraq, and the other country, the United States, the richest in the world, invaded your country and killed 655,000 of your citizens, what would you call us?” 

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“The View” was still at this in 2021, when Olympian athlete Gwen Berry turned away and covered her head while they played the national anthem at the delayed Olympic trials. Whoopi Goldberg came to her defense: “In the upcoming days, we’ll play you the American anthem and let you see what you think of it. Because there’s some stuff in there that makes it a little bit tough to take.” 

America is a free country, and journalists are free to denigrate it. Journalists are free to assert that their precious profession places them above putrid pledges of allegiance. But they shouldn’t be mystified when Americans decide they don’t trust networks that sound suspicious of the national unity that patriotism can bring. 

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