True Patriotism

Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country."

-Theodore Roosevelt

Many of those beating the war drums have not yet gone so far as to equate all dissent with treason, but they appear to be only a millimeter or two from that position. For the moment, at least, they are content merely to question the patriotism or rationality of those refusing to march in lock-step behind the Bush banner. And they conveniently dispose of principled opponents by disingenuously lumping them together with the motley menagerie of misfits and malcontents who have flocked to the phony "peace" standard held aloft by the Hollywood Left.

Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him in so far as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country.President Washington warned his countrymen against "the mischiefs of foreign intrigue" and "the impostures of pretended patriotism." Those cautions are especially apropos to this moment, when pretended patriotism is being called into service of the most mischievous foreign intrigues.

But how is one to judge who is "standing by the country" when those on opposing sides both claim to be doing so? President Washington provided the answer, in the same address, in his exhortation "that the free Constitution, which is the work of your hands, may be sacredly maintained."it becomes the American citizenry's obligation to compel Congress to preserve this "necessary" (Washington's word) protection.