Do Trump and Sanders hate America?

It’s never a good idea to be blindly loyal to one’s country. After all, no country is perfect. In fact, some would argue that the greatest form of patriotism is to eschew a mindless “My country, right or wrong” mentality and instead be willing to honestly address the problems we have. That is especially true for women and men seeking the presidency, who are expected to propose solutions to what ails the nation. But they should also be cheerleaders for our country.   

Extolling a country’s virtues and identifying its problems are not mutually exclusive. Every successful modern president has struck the right balance between flag-waving and candidly acknowledging where we needed to improve.

Until now. 

Indeed, the two leading candidates for president – Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders – are appallingly anti-American in their campaign rhetoric. Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised: The incumbent president’s inexplicable coziness with Russian President Vladimir Putin has caused some to wonder whether he is a Russian asset. Sanders, the Democratic frontrunner, is an avowed socialist who as recently as this past weekend claimed Cuban dictator Fidel Castro was a champion of literacy. The choice between a man who looks to Moscow and one who looks to Havana for inspiration is hardly appealing. 

No one expects Trump, Sanders or any of the other candidates to turn a blind eye to what needs fixing in this country. The list is long, and includes infrastructure, race relations, inequality in educational and economic opportunities and lack of access to affordable health care. 

But as important as it is for our leaders to tell us how they will improve the quality of life here, it is equally important for them to show that they understand and appreciate what makes America so special, and to celebrate our greatness.

Instead, though, all they seem to want to talk about is how bad things are. Millionaire Sanders gets red in the face trashing America’s upper class while singing the praises of socialist countries such as Denmark. With all due respect to that beautiful country with welcoming people, I’ve never heard of anyone leaving the U.S. to be treated at a hospital in Copenhagen. Indeed, according to Newsweek none of the top 10 hospitals in the world are in Denmark, and according to the World Economic Forum, none of the top 10 universities are there, either. Of the top 10 hospitals, four are in the United States, as are seven of the top 10 universities. Just sayin’.

And Trump cannot address a crowd without spewing vile hatred toward anyone who dares criticize him, as he regularly bad-mouths the essential pillars of our democracy, especially the press, the judiciary, the civil service and Congress. He shows a reckless contempt for our intelligence community, not only by routinely dismissing its findings, but also by putting it under the management of a sycophant with no intelligence experience, all while going out of his way to praise ruthless communist dictators in China, Russia and North Korea, calling them “friends.” No such warm words for the leaders of America’s traditional allies such as the United Kingdom, France, Canada or Germany. And let’s not forget how he recently used his xenophobic disdain for the Oscar-winning movie “Parasite” to smear South Korea, perhaps our most important and reliable ally in the Pacific.

Every once in a while, it would be nice if Trump and Sanders whipped their crowds into a frenzy with full-throated praise for such uniquely American virtues as respect for the rule of law, freedom of speech, religion and the press, and especially self-government. There’s nothing wrong with feeling good about our country; doing so does not prevent efforts to make it better. If anything, it enhances them.

The most successful presidents of modern times were not afraid to criticize America, but neither were they afraid to summon our best selves. Ronald Reagan saw America as “a shining city upon a hill” and spoke optimistically about “Morning in America.” George H.W. Bush called on us to be “points of light.” Bill Clinton asked us to join him in building “A bridge to the 21^st century,” and Barack Obama inspired hope by promising “change we can believe in.”  

As the campaign heats up, Trump and Sanders’s incessant criticisms of America not only get old, they make one wonder why they aspire to run a country for which they have such obvious contempt.

Mark Weinberg, a communications consultant and executive speechwriter, served as special assistant to the president and assistant press secretary in Ronald Reagan’s White House and as director of public affairs in former President Reagan’s office. He is the author of the best-selling memoir “Movie Nights with the Reagans” (Simon & Schuster).