Editorial:

Defining patriots and taking back of Old Glory

There is a position between war and peace that affords room for a patriot.

There is the idea that the unprovoked striking of Iraq is a bad policy and a worse precedent. And there is nothing in that line of thought that ought to draw fire from so-called patriots. It is, in fact, tyrannical to dismiss dissenting views. America may be a republic. But it is also a democracy that celebrates plurality, and the freedom to express it.

There is the historical perspective that the power to wage war has steadily drifted from Congress to the Executive - beginning with Truman, past the milestones of Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon. With the first Bush - whatever your perspective on Gulf War I and its outcome - the case can be made that at least we did it with international support.

There is a case that can be made that an Iraq attack will result in more acts of terrorism, more unrest in the Middle East, less stable bonds with old allies - resulting in a more difficult task of rebuilding Iraq after a war.

There is the possibility for an ideology that suggests war is bad for everyone, including our troops. There is nothing unpatriotic about seeking solutions that do not include mass destruction - of property, of lives innocent or not.

There are wild-eyed zealots so bent on war that to suggest any alternative is to be un-American. When did war become the ecclesiastical canon that defines this country?

There are those who no longer tolerate the ground claimed by those who would march into another wrong war. These intolerants proclaim their right to the flag. They defy the warring right-wing that has taken the flag hostage. They are taking it back.

For our part, we join them in taking it back. We wish for the safe return of our troops. We are saddened by the failed diplomacy of our president. We are afraid. We are strong. We are resolute. We are Americans. We re-claim Old Glory as our own.

The flag is a symbol of the America that could be - not an America that bullies the rest of the world for economic or political gain, but the America that leads by example, giving freedom to its own citizens first and using their success to showcase the power of freedom. An America that jumps into world events with both feet when the chips are down - but in concert with the international community.

A patriot is someone who has faith America still has a chance to improve. A patriot is someone who weeps and rails when America slides off the tracks.