Blind loyalty?

Is it patriotic to protest? It is clear that this nation, the American nation, was founded by a bunch of protestors (secular ones to boot).

Does it "put our troops in danger" to protest? That's an interesting question. I suppose if the "insurgent" in Iraq is watching CNN during his down time, does he gain encouragement that most Americans are against the war?

Lets make the questions very easy and clear. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese navy attacked Pearl Harbor. Suppose the President responded by directing our military to attack China. Would those that protest the war against China be "putting our troops in danger"? Would they be demoralizing the troops? Or, would the protestors merely be saying "You launched a totally idiotic war you moron."

Does the mere fact that our troops are in a combat zone negate the voice of dissent? That is a Stalinist principal of course, but should that be what we do in the United States?

That's what the American Legion thinks we should do. Read the whole story here.

NEW YORK The American Legion, which has 2.7 million members, has declared war on antiwar protestors, and the media could be next. Speaking at its national convention in Honolulu, the group's national commander called for an end to all “public protests” and “media events” against the war.

"The American Legion will stand against anyone and any group that would demoralize our troops, or worse, endanger their lives by encouraging terrorists to continue their cowardly attacks against freedom-loving peoples," Thomas Cadmus, national commander, told delegates at the group's national convention in Honolulu.

The delegates voted to use whatever means necessary to "ensure the united backing of the American people to support our troops and the global war on terrorism."

I mention it often when this sort of thing happens, but it does bear repeating. I've always been fond of reading history, and when in college, my fascination was German politics of the 1930's and 40's. I read everything I could find in the library at University. The "must read" book has to be Rise And Fall of The Third Reich by William L. Shirer. The question that one may ask is how, in the middle of the 20th century, a cultured and principled nation could systematically murder 6 million people as a matter of public policy?

How does that happen? It happens because of the thinking that American Legion National Commander Thomas P. Cadmus expresses in his speech. This will not sound very kind, but the thought processes that are going through that man's mind are exactly the sort that lead to the holocaust. It is blind loyalty to the authoritarian figurehead.

We like to think that it would be impossible for the United States to systematically commit genocide. I disagree. All it would take is a few more horrible attacks from radical Islamics, and you may, in fact, see a campaign to exterminate 1.3 billion Muslims - cheered on by the American Legion.

In his speech, Cadmus declared: "It would be tragic if the freedoms our veterans fought so valiantly to protect would be used against their successors today as they battle terrorists bent on our destruction.”

He explained, "No one respects the right to protest more than one who has fought for it, but we hope that Americans will present their views in correspondence to their elected officials rather than by public media events guaranteed to be picked up and used as tools of encouragement by our enemies." This might suggest to some, however, that American freedoms are worth dying for but not exercising.

Yes, that is what it suggests to me. The Foreign Legion has declared they will use "any means necessary" to prevent peaceful assembly to exercise first amendment rights.

I have a great deal of respect for military veterans, but having that label does not excuse a person from criticism when saying really stupid things. It does not mean that they are not called fascists when the label clearly applies.

Frankly, I could search through speeches of Josef Goebbels and find essentially the exact same language.

"We had hoped that the lessons learned from the Vietnam War would be clear to our fellow citizens. Public protests against the war here at home while our young men and women are in harm's way on the other side of the globe only provide aid and comfort to our enemies."

Cadmus advised: "Let's not repeat the mistakes of our past. I urge all Americans to rally around our armed forces and remember our fellow Americans who were viciously murdered on Sept. 11, 2001."

That's a terrific quote. Essentially, he is saying that Vietnam war protestors caused the United States to lose the war.

But, he is correct that we need to not repeat the mistakes of the past. His reference to Vietnam is appropriate. Does he not realize that we lost that war? That is why people are protesting now.

He also seems to think that Iraq had something to do with 9/11, when we all (if we have half a brain) know Iraq did not. Again, China didn't bomb Pearl Harbor, it was the Japanese. Iraq did not have anything to do with flying planes into the WTC. You would think that a person that is bright enough to be the "commander" of the American Legion would be bright enough to know that and see the distinction.

Fortunately, in 1941 the President knew who attacked Pearl Harbor, and he directed our military to respond against the correct enemy. It's not a wonder why the American public got behind that effort in spades.

One last thing that I noticed. This site says Cadmus is "A Vietnam combat veteran", and this site says "During his time in the Army he was stationed at Fort Knox, Ky. and Munich, Germany."

Interesting.