Excellent LTTE in my local paper

[Occulus]

Kalamazoo Gazette, June 25, 2004.

Patriotism requires serious, rational thought
Friday, June 25, 2004

By Eric Marvin, Kalamazoo, MI

Ever since President George W. Bush made his foray into Iraq, it has become increasingly fashionable and acceptable to refer to those of us who oppose the Iraqi war as "unpatriotic." For me, Linda Leonard's May 30 letter to the editor was the last straw.

Leonard's letter took Minority House Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to task for criticizing the Bush administration's war in Iraq. She didn't say so in as many words, but I'm willing to bet Leonard's implication is that Rep. Pelosi is unpatriotic. What's worse, she thinks Pelosi's opinions are actually dangerous to our country. On the contrary, I believe Leonard's views are the ones that are dangerous, and part of what I see as a disturbing trend evolving in our country.


Before pledging blind support for the actions and policies of any president, Republican or Democrat, I implore Ms. Leonard, and all Americans, to closely examine the subtle but vast differences between patriotism and nationalism.

Patriotism requires of its adherents serious, analytical, rational thought. Nationalism, on the other hand, demands that the people not give any serious thought to the affairs of the government and instead, wrap themselves in the flag and let someone else do their thinking for them.

Patriotism isn't threatened with the creative chaos that comes from a confluence of differing viewpoints; it understands that freedom and liberty sometimes are messy. Nationalism fears dissent and requires conformity of thought. That's why it produces hollow, lock-step slogans like "America -- Love It or Leave It," or "My Country, Right or Wrong."

Patriotism doesn't play an all-or-nothing game, but rather seeks answers that simultaneously benefit our nation's interests and those of the rest of the world. Nationalism believes it can win only if others lose.

In a nutshell, patriotism seeks to win both the hearts and minds of the people. Nationalism seeks to win only hearts; check your brain at the door, please.

Ms. Leonard's statements, undoubtedly fueled by her own sense of "patriotism," would give the Bush administration permission and authority to act as it sees fit without the need to answer to anyone but themselves. Anyone truly motivated by patriotism would never make such statements, much less write about them in their local newspaper.

Nationalism camouflaged as patriotism has enabled leaders throughout history to rise to power and exert their narrow, self-serving agendas over millions, all in the name of the Fatherland, the Motherland, or as in our present case, the Homeland. This faux-patriotic mindset demands that we support the decisions of our leaders without question, regardless of how malignant their objectives might be. It's both dangerous and alarming that those like Rep. Pelosi are consistently and openly attacked as unpatriotic enemies of the state by nationalists in patriot's clothing.

To subscribe to the pure brand of patriotism upon which our great nation was founded, we must be free to think, speak and act as individual patriots. Until such time that our constitutional rights are sufficiently gutted by the contradictory "Patriot Act," I am compelled to remind Ms. Leonard and those of her ilk that patriotic Americans still have the right and obligation to determine for ourselves the difference between a justifiable war of self-defense, and one of pillage devoid of principle or righteous cause.

Eric Marvin is a resident of Kalamazoo and a graduate of Western Michigan University.

This LTTE was published in the Kalamazoo Gazette, on June 25, 2004. Mods, if you feel this is a copyright violation, please feel free to delete this post.

I feel this is important enough to leave as is.

[murielm99]

1. Nice one.

I hope the mods leave it as is.

[JohnyCanuck]

2. Very nice indeed. n/t

.

[JohnyCanuck]

3. This deserves another kick. n/t

n/t