Subject: Hypocrisy: Larry, too many pseudo-conservatives have made support of torture the litmus test of patriotism. Is it any wonder that decent people would use "patriotism" far more carefully today? We are well past the time when conservative pundits and talk show commentators are allowed to attack liberals as unpatriotic without a stiff challenge. I would argue that an uncritical love of country, such as that practiced by all of these Republican conservatives, is far more dangerous to our well-being than any supposed patriotism deficit on the part of liberals. After all, it is through adaptation to changing circumstances that people and nations preserve their strength, and to adapt you must be prepared to be critical, to learn from criticism and ultimately to change your behavior. It is toward this end that liberals propose a critical patriotism that is certainly founded on love of country but is also prepared to find and correct errors in our national behavior. Lastly, it is absurd to accuse a man like Sen. Barack Obama, a man who understands that his rise to prominence could happen only in America, of lacking in patriotism. CP