Our country is one whose history bears the scars of growing from an imperial colony to the strong, diverse nation we are today. Some of these scars are ugly. During World War II, America disenfranchised many thousands of Japanese-Americans because of their ethnic background. In 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald, a former U.S. Marine, shot and killed John F. Kennedy, the president whom many people credit with having initiated a large portion of the civil rights movement. Despite the many mistakes we’ve made, no one has argued that we should disown our heritage. Rather, we acknowledge our mistakes and learn from them.
In the column titled “Flag Folly” (May 1, ODE), Pat Payne shows us a stellar example of the cultural intolerance that he is so quick to attribute to those who disagree with him. By stereotyping and slandering Southerners who value their Mississippi heritage — warts and all — he plays into the culture of xenophobia and hatred which so many have given so much to remove.
While serving at Keesler Air Force base in Mississippi, I came to know quite a few people who identify with their Southern heritage. Most of them were tolerant, open-minded people, willing to accept at face value all who are willing to extend the same courtesy.
Never mind the questionable historical perspectives Payne spews regarding the Civil War. It is his flagrant intolerance for the most fundamental right of all in a free society — freedom of thought — which should be particularly offensive to all who value it. As a serving member of America’s fighting forces, I can choose to disagree with those who hold different beliefs than I do, but I’d be proud to give my life to protect their right to believe as they wish.
I fear, however, that the greatest threat to this freedom comes not from some foreign enemy, but from a close-minded, reactionary culture, which can be found simply by opening a newspaper.