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May 20, 2007

False Patriotism Endangering America

Missy Beattie responded to the exchange between Ron Paul and Rudy Giuliani in last week’s debate the same way I did – with deep concern over the audience’s blind acceptance of Giuliani’s cowboy mentality and rejection of Paul’s warnings. Beattie points to a woman she saw on television a few days after 9/11. The woman was asking, "How could they do this to us when we are so good?" I wondered that myself. "They hate our freedom" was an answer that felt good, but it was the wrong answer. It wasn't until I read Chalmers Johnson's "Nemesis" that I really understood it. Sadly, too many Republicans so deeply believe that to be a patriot, one must believe America can do no wrong, that they reject out of hand the notion that we have done wrong and that the chickens are coming home to roost. To talk about blowback to a Republican is to risk being called a traitor. They don’t seem to realize that their “patriotism” is putting this country in grave danger, and those who are raising alarms are doing so because they are patriots who want a bright future for this country!

If the citizens of this nation don't examine the role our conquest-driven foreign policy played in bringing terrorism to our shores, then, we will elect politicians who will continue the strategies that inspire terrorists, thus, denying our children and grandchildren a peaceful world.

Ron Paul suggested we listen to what the people who attacked us had to say about why they did it. Beattie offers a few excerpts from bin Laden’s fatwa and many other brave, patriotic Americans have done the same. Interestingly, just as Paul said, our bombing of Iraq, along with the imposition of sanctions that cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children, really was part of what led to 9/11. And it isn’t traitorous to say so. In fact, it’s downright patriotic to tell the truth if we want to build a better future for America.

Posted by Becky at May 20, 2007 12:08 PM