Has patriot become a dirty word?
Re “The patriot gap,” Opinion, March 11
Jonah Goldberg claims that none of the Democratic candidates can bring themselves to say the P-word. Could it be that the word itself has been tainted by the very idol Goldberg worships? Could it be that the Patriot Act itself has stained the true meaning of the word in many Americans’ minds? Could it be that any time anyone has criticized or questioned the neoconservative Bush administration, he has been labeled as unpatriotic? Perhaps if Goldberg’s side had not so completely wrapped itself in the flag while acting like bullies, destroying the very concepts of freedom that America stands for, people might not shy away from such a term.
Democratic candidates are far more patriotic than Goldberg could possibly imagine, but they don’t need to use the word in every other sentence to prove it, just as they don’t need to wear lapel pins to prove they are proud of their country. It’s Goldberg’s team that’s done this, not ours.
Scott W. Hughes
Westlake Village
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We are well past the time when conservative pundits like Goldberg are allowed to attack liberals as unpatriotic without a stiff challenge. I would argue that an uncritical love of country, such as that practiced by Goldberg and his fellow conservatives, is far more dangerous to our well-being than any supposed patriotism deficit on the part of liberals. After all, it is through adaptation to changing circumstances that people and nations preserve their strength, and to adapt you must be prepared to be critical, to learn from criticism and ultimately to change your behavior. It is toward this end that liberals propose a critical patriotism that is certainly founded on love of country but is also prepared to find and correct errors in our national behavior.
Lastly, it is absurd to accuse a man like Sen. Barack Obama, a man who understands that his rise to prominence could happen only in America, of lacking in patriotism.
Chloe Pajerek
Rochester, N.Y.
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Goldberg’s pseudo-conservative friends have made support of torture the litmus test of patriotism. Is it any wonder that decent people would use “patriotism” far more carefully than Goldberg would like?
Chris Plourde
Venice
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As Samuel Johnson famously observed, “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” If the shoe fits ...
C. Scott Littleton
Pasadena