Replies

http://www.massnews.com/past_issues/2001/oct%202001/1021flag.htm

Isabel Lyman writes:
>> “The flag,” she told the Select Board in a statement that was reported in this newspaper, “is a symbol of tyranny and fear and destruction and terrorism.” I gasped. In a room filled with veterans and patriots, that sentence had as much impact as if she had burned Old Glory on the Town Common. Amherst resident Phyllis Daley had three words for Traschen as the latter walked past her seat: “Shame on you!”

Since that meeting, and since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, other outraged citizens have repeated Traschen’s words - almost verbatim - to me.

I share their outrage. Such “I hate America” sentiments reflect a lack of gratitude for all the good the United States has done, all the blood we’ve shed on foreign soil, all the money we’ve given to poorer nations, all the immigrants’ dreams that have come true.

But it is easy for me to dismiss her remarks as a childish rant. See, that isn’t my American flag she’s talking about. Not even close. Let me tell you about my flag.

My flag is the one carefully draped over the casket of New York Fire Department Chief Peter Ganci.

My flag is the one that mourners at commentator Barbara Olson’s memorial service in Arlington, Va., placed on their suit lapels and somber dresses.

My flag is the one in downtown Northampton that a crowd outside Spoleto restaurant faced as they sang the national anthem during a candlelight vigil.

My flag is the one that our president, George W. Bush, raised when he visited Ground Zero.

—Then a rebutal by Traschen:

>>As a result, I have received a large quantity of hateful e-mail and phone calls. Most of these have been ugly and violent in tone. Many recent ones, from readers of the WSJ site, have also been obscene. Almost all have been anonymous. These anonymous, hostile, obscene messages accuse me of undermining American freedoms. They accuse me of supporting violence and terrorism.
This could not be further from the truth. Since I was a child, I have been involved in working for peace. I abhor violence, torture, and murder

It's always been my experience that garbage like Prof. Traschen, for all their talk about ‘’working for peace’’ and denouncing violence think and sometimes act in complete opposite of the ''peace'' they claim to work for.

Since I was a child, I have been involved in working for peace.

Wrong. But unlike Satanists, you secular progressives don't know who you are working for.

(Addressed to Traschen, not the poster)