It used to be thought by many that we are all Americans--whether on the political Left or on the political Right, whether Democrat or Republican, whether Conservative or Liber- al.  When trouble came America's way, when our national security was threatened, when there was war, we all rallied around the flag.  The politicians shut up.  Political competi- tion and partisan differences among Americans ended at the waters edge.

Lately, just the opposite has been happening.

Protesters of the war in Iraq clearly make no sense in their arguments.  They dismiss a brutal dictator's murder and torture of thousands to perhaps hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children as being the Iraqis' problem, not anyone else's.  So much for the notion that the political Left is a champion of human rights.

The political Left claims that Saddam Hussein is no imminent threat to America and should not be confronted because that will only make him angry and then he would be- come a threat and use the weapons of mass destruction they say he doesn't have.  While the Left claims that Saddam has no ties to terrorists, it also claims that, if provoked, he would place the WMDs in the hands terrorists so that they could commit acts of terror here in America and murder thousands of Americans.  So much for the notion of the in- tellectual Left.

Still, there is something that is even more disturbing than finding out that the political Left has no real concern for the rights and safety of human beings or hasn't the foggiest idea how to make a coherent argument.  It is the simple fact that the Left has no idea of what it means to be an American.

We have all heard stories of people on the political Left being "offended" by the wearing of American flags as lapel pins or even by seeing the American flag on a post.  We have heard how some on the Left will turn their backs on the American flag when the national anthem is played.  The right and need to hold such a shameful attitude and engage in such disgraceful behavior is claimed in the name of diversity, sensitivity, inclusion, and freedom of speech  All of this is, in fact, in direct contradiction of American Nationalism, or national patriotism.

Protesters carry placards denouncing American action in the fight against terrorism and calling the action terrorism itself.  Celebrities from Hollywood to Nashville trash the country and criticize the President, claiming it as their patriotic duty to dissent and utilize their constitutional right to freedom of speech.  Yet, in the same breath, they claim that criticizing them and their actions and statements is un-American.

The political Left wants you to believe that trashing America and criticizing our govern- ment is patriotic, but criticizing them for doing that is unpatriotic.  For the Left, up is down.

It's not just the blatantly anti-American protesters turning things upside down.  True, they too are claiming they are patriotic when they praise America's enemies and slander American history, all the while accusing anyone pointing out the vileness and reprehensi- bility of their rhetoric of being un-American, anti-democratic, against the Constitution, or worse.

Former Vice-President Al Gore has gotten into the act.

Mr. Gore wishes that people go unchallenged when they trash America's current nation- al leadership--the Bush Presidency and administration and the Republican majorities in the two houses of Congress.  For the former Vice-President, trashing America and its leaders is freedom of speech; it is democracy at work.  However, exercising your free- dom of speech to show your disagreement with someone who trashes America and its leaders is, according to Mr. Gore, a blow to American democracy.

Mr. Gore chose to attack talk radio because it was not following the party line.

While Al Gore admitted that, in the past, there was never as much access by the media to the military in a time of war as the media enjoys today, he went onto say: "I admire these journalists who are covering this war who are embedded, but I don't want the own- ers of the companies they work for to be in bed with the government."  In other words, there is nothing that the present national leadership can do that isn't fair game to being trashed by the political Left.  Even when the present leadership opens up to journalists, Mr. Gore still has the need to cast an aspersion on the motives of our national govern- ment and the elected Republican leaders in that government.

And then he chose to defend the Dixie Chicks.

Trying to understand why a former vice-president of the United States during a time of war would prefer to defend a singing group's "right" not to be criticized for trashing America's President, rather than defend our President or Americans expressing their right to criticize the singing group, is a little more than just interesting.

Actually, based on what we know about Mr. Gore and his claim that he invented the In- ternet, perhaps reinventing what it means to be an American is just as plausible to him.  Fortunately, it is just as implausible to the rest of us.

A few weeks ago, the sort of country singing group was in Germany when, the lead singer of the Dixie Chicks decided to tell the Germans how ashamed she was of the American President.  Since that story came out, Americans have been exercising their freedom of speech by boycotting the group, not buying their albums, etc  Mr. Gore be- lieves it is the right of a true American to be in a foreign land and trash America to a bunch of Europeans, but it is unpatriotic to voice your disapproval of such action here in the U.S.A.

Speaking in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to a group of college students, Al Gore said: "They [the Dixie Chicks] were made to feel un-American and risked economic retalia- tion because of what was said.  Our democracy has taken a hit.  Our best protection is free and open debate."

Mr. Gore is upset because the Dixie Chicks' album sales have dropped 42% since the boycott began.

Of course, that is probably not the reason for Mr. Gore's dismay.  More likely, it is because, unlike what he says he wants, "open debate," he would rather it not happen. 

That is the crux of the Left's dilemma--how to be particularly un-American in your voice and actions, while at the same time making Americans feel un-American because they oppose you. 

During World War II, Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's chief propagandist, was fond of saying that, if you tell a lie often enough, it soon becomes perceived as true, in fact, the bigger the lie, the more likely that would happen.

One notion that does need to be turned upside down is the political Left's perception of who we are in America and just how much Leftist dogma and propaganda we will accept

Paul Walfield is a freelance writer and member of the State Bar of California, with an undergraduate degree in Psychology and post-graduate study in behavioral and analytical psychology. He resided for a number of years in the small town of Houlton, Maine, and is now a California attorney. His articles appear in numerous periodicals and on numerous websites. He has been the featured guest on KTSA News Talk Radio.  CONTACT INFORMATION:  Email:   paul.walfield@cox.net

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