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Eric Alterman rejects "Hate America" crowd
This "Hate America" left must be rejected for reasons of honor and pragmatism. It is difficult enough to "talk sense to the American people" in wartime without having to defend positions for which we have no intellectual or emotional sympathy. Principled dissent is never more necessary than when it is least welcome. American history is replete with examples of red scares, racist hysteria, political censorship and the indefensible curtailment of civil liberties that derive, in part, from excessive and abusive forms of superpatriotism. We are already seeing the beginnings of a concerted attack on civil liberties, freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Given the importance most Americans place on patriotism as a bedrock personal value, it is folly to try to enjoin them in a battle that fails to embrace their most basic beliefs. The "attacks" on civil liberties are envisioned as short-term measures of self-preservation. The Hate America crowd, finding fault with everything the nation does just to be finding fault, would have us surrender to people who openly demand our eradication. Posted by: Fred Pruitt 2001-10-29 |
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