Sleuthing Patriotic Slogans Analysis

In the article “Sleuthing Patriotic Slogans” by Gary Sloan, Sloan shares his thoughts with readers about seemingly problematic patriotic messages. Readers are presented with his point of view concerning “Patriotic Slogans” (Sloan 1). The myriad of slogans are seen just about everywhere and may not necessarily be taken at face value. That is to say, depending on how they are viewed by the individual, they can be problematic. Sloan’s primary point is though thought of as words that should bring people together on common ground, intended to bring forth a sense of agreement around the subject; the patriotic expressions can sometimes be conflicting and not necessarily be a positive thing. Thus, the article questions various patriotic expressions, parsing the words for what they mean.

Sloan begins his article by describing how patriotic expressions are plentiful in the US. He characterizes the

He is deep in self-thought as he continues with his point that common patriotic phrases are not necessarily positive and may seem problematic for a reader. Sloan indicates that someone with issues of patriotism or issues of authority may have difficulty agreeing with the expression because some slogans demand that readers agree. Rather than dismissing what might be considered absurd, maybe even in his own mind, he explores and analyzes other various examples of these patriotic expressions in terms of actions as if they were acted upon.

In the majority of the article, more than half, Sloan seriously questions patriotic slogans. He examines the words of each one that comes to mind and provides illustrations that question the particular slogans meaning. Furthermore, each of his observations is followed up with a question. To conclude the article, Sloan returns to his original thought about the particular flyer that caught his attention to begin with, asking himself how he can do what it