It's time to stand up to blind patriotic rhetoric
Susie Dorsey

April 11 2004

Many of us who think religion is a very personal and private thing stood by 
silently and let a vocal group redefine the religious community in this country.

They not only did it in the name of Christianity, thus excluding many citizens, 
but they routinely invoke their religion in matters governmental.

They have tried to eliminate the separation of their church and the state, and 
would, except for the constitutional provision to the contrary, bring religion 
into every aspect of government.

We often refer to these people as the religious right. And while I'm not sure 
that all of the players are the same, there certainly is a huge overlap between 
the religious right and the group that is now trying to redefine patriotism.

It's time for each of us to stand up and be counted instead of cowering under 
the threat of venomous rhetoric that is currently being launched at anyone who 
dares criticize the government.

The past year's events in Iraq have given rise to this latest demagoguery.

Here's the problem: There's a group in this country that confuses patriotism 
with their own sense of what's right. And what's right, as a general rule, is 
what the man they supported for president says is right. Going to war in Iraq 
was right, and anyone who dares to criticize that war is unpatriotic.

They take any argument against the war and cast it as an aspersion on the 
country and on the men and women in the U.S. military who are fighting the war. 
Any criticism of President Bush specifically or the government's role in 
general, they will say, is disrespectful of the men and women who have died.

Do they believe this stuff, or are they just trying to browbeat the rest of us 
into silent submission?

No one wants to tell a recent widow that her husband died for nothing.

On the other hand, no one should feel unpatriotic if they disagreed from the 
outset and felt that going to war in Iraq was a diversion from the hunt for 
Osama bin Laden. Nor should they feel unpatriotic if they have, even slowly and 
painfully over the months, come to believe the Bush administration exaggerated 
the facts and deceived us about some of the reasons for going to war.

But just as many in this group can't conceive of government that is not based on 
their religious beliefs, neither can they see any reason to tolerate people who 
believe true patriotism can abide legitimate criticism.

That's too bad, because this is beginning to have the tenor of the early days of 
dissension about the war in Vietnam when any critic was cursed and reviled.

How can we ever correct a bad situation - whether it was the Vietnam War, the 
current war and occupation in Iraq or any other problem - if we can't discuss 
the pros and cons, admit mistakes were made, correct them and move on?

No president, no administration, is ever going to be perfect. Some suggest that 
the Bush administration is setting new records for blunders, but for the purpose 
of this discussion, I'm willing to say that's just political sniping.

I am less tolerant of people who refuse to take seriously the words of former 
treasurer Paul O'Neill and terrorism expert Richard Clarke just because they are 
critical of Bush.

And while I am not a fan of John Kerry, I am offended when this group of 
armchair warriors tries to label his Vietnam War protests as unpatriotic. After 
all, the man risked his life in Vietnam. He had firsthand knowledge of what was 
going on. And these Johnny-come-latelies are going to question his patriotism 
because they don't like some of the other people in the anti-war movement.

But this isn't about John Kerry. This is about people who have made up their 
minds, closed them to any new facts and feel justified in demeaning anyone who 
doesn't agree with them.

We are in for a long, rough war in this country. But let's make it a war against 
terrorism, a war for the hearts and minds of the world instead of a war with one 
another over who is a true patriot.

Dorsey is a former associate editor of the editorial page. Send e-mail to 
susiedorsey@cox.net. 

Copyright © 2004, Daily Press