Motivated

Tom Sears is a professor of accounting at Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y. Every other week, he writes a column for the Oneonta Daily Star entitled: “On The Right Side.'

Many readers of the column have been angered by Mr. Sears’ negative attacks on liberals and have repeatedly urged the editor of the Star to discontinue Sears’ column.

However, he does have fans, which became apparent in a letter to the editor, by John Forman of Oneonta, who wrote:

“Thank you, Tom Sears, for your great column on patriotism in the May 13 issue of The Daily Star. You really put the truth-hating, ‘blame America first’ liberal creeps in their place. Thanks again, and keep up the good work.”

Mr. Sears’ confrontational style often serves to motivate those liberals, who do not usually express their views in letters to the editor. In fact, it motivated my wife Karen, who ironically, had her letter published on the same day as Mr. Forman’s letter. She took exception to Sears’ very limited definition of “patriotism”, by writing:

“After reading Tom Sears’ column of May 13, may I suggest several alternative definitions and thoughts on patriotism.

‘“Theodore Roosevelt said: ‘To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but it is morally treasonable to the American public.’

‘“Samuel Johnson quipped: ‘Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.” (To which Ambrose Bierce famously added, ‘With all due respect. I beg to submit that it is the first.’)

‘“August Bebel- ‘In time of war the loudest patriots are the greatest profiteers.’

‘“George Bernard Shaw - ‘Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it.’

‘“Bertrand Russell - ‘Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons.’

“My personal favorite is from an 1847 speech made in Syracuse entitled: ‘Love of God, Love of Man, Love of Country.’ Abolitionist Fredrick Douglass a freed slave said: ‘I make no pretension to patriotism. So long as my voice can be heard on this or the other side of the Atlantic, I will hold up America to the lightning scorn of moral indignation. In doing this, I shall feel myself discharging the duty of a true patriot; for he is a lover of his country who rebukes and does not excuse its sins. It is righteousness that exalteth a nation while sin is a reproach to any people.’

“The looting of Iraqi oil violates the Geneva Convention, but continuing the occupation, by our government deserves our ‘moral indignation.”

****A true liberal would not call for censorship of Mr. Sears, but instead would welcome his contributions to the marketplace of ideas.