Posted by: Renne F. Hamblin
Comment: #1
Fri Jul 4, 2008 11:29 AM
Dear Dr Sowell
I just want you to know that some of us in the United States feel that patriotism is still very important without it we could be doomed. I know that we have had problems with the president we have now, but we should never put our presidents down. When we do this other countries see us as weak. The fact is we should always support our president just because he is our president and we put him in office (I think). When we have troops over seas how do you think they feel when they come back? President Bush put our troops there with our blessings now we don't want them there. They say history repeats itself, well if we are not carefull we might turn out like the romans. That being said I would like to thank you for your columns, out of all of the ones I read yours seems to be the only one that makes any sense. If more people read your column they might get a different respective on our country and which way its headed. I always look forward to reading your columns every week.
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Posted by: Masako
Comment: #4
Tue Jul 1, 2008 7:00 PM
So, let me get this straight, Mr. Sowell. If our heroic American "troops" wind up being victims, should the media not report that? I do love that word "troop". It is such a convenient way to turn an 18-year old on whom you've slapped a uniform into an expendable entity, a fair military target, instead of what he or she is--an 18-year old kid. ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
If the kid has a uniform, it's okay to kill him because he's a troop. And in the name of the soldier's pride, never admit weakness. So go ahead and neglect him once he's been used up, or worse yet, turned into a cripple, and sweep the whole thing under the carpet. ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Since you wish to dabble in history, you ought to take a good look at how many "troops" and civilians had their lives taken away or ruined in a conflict nobody has yet been able to endow with a just cause. What some of the brighter bulbs were saying before and after World War I when they challenged what you call "patriotism," was "What is so special about this cause that these innocent people should offer themselves up to be chopped meat? Was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand really worth planting so many tombstones and turning so many "troops" into beings with partial human limbs and faces?" ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
The difference between "nationalism" and "patriotism" has obviously caused you significant confusion. Those with a heart instead of a brick in their chest were asking at the time, "Why do our precious kids have to fight each other and die over a conflict between a bunch of rich aristocrats over who controls what land?" ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
The same old issues pop up over and over again in history. So called conservatives like you, who don't believe in a genuinely conservative approach to anything, have stolen the word patriotism from those of us who occupy the center in this country. We are legitimately asking why our kids should have to give their lives to support some corrupt draft dodger's fantasy of lining the coffers of Halliburton with the spoils of the current crime against humanity that was pawned off on the world as a noble act of self-defense. ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
For your information, a patriot is someone who's allegiance goes to his ethical sense of right and wrong, to his family, to those who have earned his true friendship, to God, and to the beautiful planet He gave us which “conservatives” like you are treating like a garbage dump. Where the borders are drawn on God's real estate are not all that relevant except to those whose ultimate agenda involves the spilling of someone else's blood in order to make a buck.
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