The meaning of patriotism

June 29, 2002—The following is an open letter in response to an editorial that I read in the Washington Post, written by Dennis Pluchinsky, a senior intelligence analyst with the Diplomatic Security Service in the US Department of State.

Dear Mr. Pluchinsky:

In the middle of June 2002 you wrote an editorial that was published widely on the Internet, and in many major newspapers. You began by accusing the media in the United States of treason. By the end of that article you softened your approach, and simply accused the news media and academicians of lacking common sense. You are qualified to tell us this, you assert, because you are a threat analyst for the US government, who possesses, "the imagination of Walt Disney, the patience of a kindergarten teacher, the mind-set of a chess player, the resolve of a Boston Red Sox fan, the mental acuity of a river boat gambler, and the forecasting ability of a successful stock market analyst."

I am less capable of such broad self-promotion. I am but an Internet commentator who has an understanding of law, the Constitution of the United States, and American history. You have had your say. Now, I would like to have mine.

You may be surprised to hear that I agree that the US press is irresponsible, and often lacks common sense. But that is the beginning and the end of our agreement. While you claim that the press reports too much, allowing potential terrorists to understand our weaknesses, the failures of our infrastructure, and our lapses in security, I argue that they fail to inform us enough. You argue that the press should inform the government, and not the people, whereby they may be issued gold stars to display as patriotic American journals. By extension you claim that it is better for the people to simply trust their government to deal with its own lapses and failures, leaving both the public and foreign enemies ignorant.

In an open society, terrorists are as capable, on their own, of identifying lapses in infrastructure and security as any beat reporter. Unless you advocate the closure of our society, as I hope you do not, because we would then resemble the defunct Soviet Union or Red China, the problem will always exist.