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Publisher's RE: What Is a Patriot? |
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Sunday, 13 July 2008 |
Dear Mr. Hawley,
Thank you for inquiring into the nature of my desk reference, for the last 30 years it has been the American Heritage dictionary of the English Language (unabridged). The definition is quite simple yet broad; a “Patriot- one who loves, supports and defends his country”. I suggest it doesn’t take one putting on a uniform to do this. Now –I don’t blame those individuals who serve this country in uniform or not during these times of misguided political military incursions, like Iraq today. What you may not know is that there have been over 30 uses of US Military force since the Vietnam war ended and a couple hundred in the 20th century alone, only twice with declarations of war by Congress.
What I must ask you is how much of our Constitution or our cherished liberties are now at stake in Iraq? How many were at stake in Vietnam or Panama or Nicaragua or the two hundred other countries we’ve invaded in modern history? How many young “patriots” will be we send off to die in our misguided forays into empire and then justify it all as patriotism?
I would refer you to the remarks of Marine Major General Smedley Butler (1881-1940) on the real nature of our wars– “WAR is a racket. It always has been…
It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious…
A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.”
My Grandpa Charlie used opine on war saying, “If they took the profit out it there wouldn’t be any”.
Thanks for writing.
James Preston Allen, Publisher
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