There seems to be a large amount of confusion in this country on the concept of patriotism. Accusations of disloyalty threaten to dominate the political landscape as the upcoming elections in November draw near. I hope we can keep in mind the following: A patriot is deeply concerned, saddened and angry about what happened about one year ago. At the same time, a patriot has similar feelings about problems within this country that existed before Sept. 11 and still need to be addressed.

A patriot tries to stand behind his or her leaders during times of trouble. However, this does not mean these leaders now take on the stature of kings, and that their word should now be accepted as law without going through the traditional channels.

A patriot may choose to publicly display his or her affection for the country through flags, slogans, etc. However, a patriot also realizes that this is not compulsory. Many of those in Washington who accuse those who do not agree with the President as being “unpatriotic”also support the posting of a certain flag at a certain state capitol in this country. This flag represents an Anti-American and rebellious band responsible for starting a war that killed more than 100 times the Americans as the Sept. 11 attacks.

A patriot may or may not believe that attacking Iraq at the present time is a good idea. For instance, he or she may wonder if our military efforts can be diverted from finding those directly responsible for Sept. 11 to chasing after a potential threat. Above all, a patriot believes a public debate is always helpful in resolving these types of issues.

Hopefully, most of America will be able to see above all the rhetoric on election day and vote for those whom they think will best serve our country.

Femi Oyekan

Senior

Management Information Systems