The relentless hypocrisy and total lack of self-awareness in John Balentine’s Thanksgiving op-ed is enough to make me wonder if it’s real or parody (Here’s Something: “Rekindle Pilgrims’ pride this Thanksgiving,” Nov. 19).

He fears a “tyrannical government” but opines the loss of the days when schoolchildren were made to pledge allegiance to the state each morning. He wants to celebrate freedom but takes offense if anyone dares question the historical narrative he prefers, even if that narrative is demonstrably false. His use of Martin Luther King Jr.’s name as he rails against everything King fought for is truly grotesque.

It does seem clear that he is right on one point when he says that he and his generation “admire itself unapologetically.”