tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27612445.post8987151438141348004..comments2024-03-23T12:05:23.537-05:00Comments on The Wild Reed: PatriotismMichael J. Baylyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03087458490602152648noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27612445.post-69191483505189144052007-07-05T23:24:00.000-05:002007-07-05T23:24:00.000-05:00Michael, thanks for reproducing these reflections ...Michael, thanks for reproducing these reflections on patriotism. A local author, Anthony Signorelli, has a book called Call to Liberty: Bridging the Divide Between Liberals and Conservatives, and an organization with website <A HREF="http://www.calltoliberty.org" REL="nofollow">calltoliberty.org</A>, that is highly patriotic in the spirit of your quotations. He talks about the current theocrats and plutocrats of the right wing as having usurped the term "conservative" and demonized the term "liberal" so that people who genuinely identify with the form of government our constitution establishes are reluctant to call themselves either. His take is that our constitution establishes a liberal democratic republic which needs genuine progressives, moderates and conservatives to make it work. If we do not unite in common purpose, we could lose it to the people who want religion to govern or the people who want the wealthy to govern. We have to start appreciating what we have here as a first step. I know as a progressive I have too often been guilty of excessive rhetoric about "conservatives" that can be destructive rather than constructive. The religious right and corporate plutocrats are not "conservative" of our liberal democratic republic and its principles of freedom and equality. So thanks again. PaulaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com