Patriotism redefined

PATRIOTISM IS a funny thing. It can be used to justify almost anything. Timothy McVeigh believed he was a patriot. He was a terrorist who murdered 168 innocents. Senator Joseph McCarthy believed he was a patriot. He was a censorious demagogue who ruined the livelihoods and reputations of hundreds. J. Edgar Hoover thought he was a patriot. Enough said.

As countless others have observed, some of the most ardent flag-wavers are those who violate the Constitution in the name of protecting it. Take Attorney General John Ashcroft, for instance, who arrogantly opined during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last December that "those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty" merely "aid terrorists — for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve." Or the United States Congress, whose members thoughtlessly passed the USA Patriot Act, which tramples on the First and Fourth Amendments.