Being a jingoist ain’t all bad

Journalists manage to develop thick skin. If they can’t, they get out of the business and become public relations experts. The money is a whole heckuva lot better and you quickly reach the point where you don’t mind calling a rat a bunny rabbit.

That little bit of kitchen philosophy is preparatory to telling you that one of the things I’ve been accused of is jingoism. Merriam Webster defines that as “extreme chauvinism or nationalism marked especially by a belligerent foreign policy.” OK. I’ll take that.

On some days, I’ll even wear the label proudly.

Friday was one of those days. I spent some time at the Global TransPark talking with people who were protesting what they say is Aero Construction’s involvement in torture of terrorist suspects. I’m not about to defend or oppose these protestors. They have a right to their opinions. And that’s the whole point: They have a right.

Phillip O’Neill, one of the group’s leaders, said something Friday that stuck with me: The First Amendment works in Lenoir County.

O’Neill and his people demonstrated peacefully at the GTP. They wrapped the front and sides of Aero’s building with crime scene tape. They stood quietly outside the building and made their statements. They went into the jetport terminal, talked with people, distributed literature, attempted to contact airport officials. Then they went on their way.

Sheriff’s deputies watched. They made no attempt to interfere with the protestors and the protestors made no attempt to antagonize the deputies. Everybody did his or her job – peacefully. Three cheers for the deputies and three more for the protestors. The First Amendment worked. Free speech, and the right to assemble peaceably, were alive and well at the GTP. At least, they were on Friday.

Contrast that, if you will, by a dose of reality posted by The Associated Press earlier in the week. The story was datelined Beijing. The AP reported that Microsoft shut down a Chinese blogger’s site after he “discussed politically sensitive issues including a recent strike at a Beijing newspaper.” The action was taken, Microsoft said, after the company received a request from the Chinese government. Yahoo! took similar action in another case last year.

Two words are anathema to the Chinese government: human rights and democracy. “Microsoft's Web log service bars use of terms such as ‘democracy’ and ‘human rights,’” AP reports. “On the China-based portal of search engine Goggle, a search for material the Dalai Lama, Taiwan and other sensitive topics returns a message saying ‘site cannot be found.’” The companies defend their action by saying if they want to do business in China they must obey Chinese laws.

The U.S. has more problems than you or I could list in a month of Sundays. Still, despite all the things that undeniably are wrong with our country, it’s still the best place on the planet to live. The National Anthem still brings tears to my eyes. Watching the flag flutter in the wind while a Marine leads a crowd in the Pledge gives me a chill. What can touch an American more than seeing the Missing Man formation pass overhead?

Jingoist? I’ll take it. How about you?