A Troubling Thought

I'm getting a little tired hearing that our practices of indefinite detentions, illegal spying, water boarding, running secret prisons outside the reach of the law, and so forth have created an "image problem" as Senator Lyndsey Graham recently put it. And yes, they are our practices - we, the people, are sovereign.

I think we need to come to grips with something important. America and Americans do not have an image problem.

AMERICA AND AMERICANS HAVE A CONDUCT PROBLEM!

Can you imagine anyone saying that an ordinary crimnal has an "image problem?" Of course not. Image is the least of criminal's problems and only a fool could fail to see this.

It frankly amazes me how infantile we are regarding our ability to critique ourselves as a nation. We can allow our government to do all sorts of horrible things and still think of ourselves as beacons of moral goodness, albeit with an "image problem." And God help the person who expresses shame for the actions of this country - no matter how heinous those actions might be. And Apologize? "You gotta be outta your mind!"

Proof of this? Senator Graham must call morally dispecable practices an "Image problem" to avoid offending his constituents.

This certainly raises the question of what kind of patriotism have we instilled? It seems awfully shrill and shallow to me.

Joe H.