Yes. We are patriots, too

First Bagley, now Rocky ... what's up in Salt Lake City? You'd think they were in New England somewhere!

The full text of the mayor of Salt Lake City's great speech can be found at the Salt Lake Trib. Here's an excerpt from near the beginning to whet your appetite:

Let no one deny we are patriots. We love our country, we hold dear the values upon which our nation was founded, and we are distressed at what our President, his administration, and our Congress are doing to, and in the name of, our great nation.

Blind faith in bad leaders is not patriotism.

A patriot does not tell people who are intensely concerned about their country to just sit down and be quiet; to refrain from speaking out in the name of politeness or for the sake of being a good host; to show slavish, blind obedience and deference to a dishonest, war-mongering, human-rights-violating president.

That is not a patriot. Rather, that person is a sycophant. That person is a member of a frightening culture of obedience - a culture where falling in line with authority is more important than choosing what is right, even if it is not easy, safe, or popular. And, I suspect, that person is afraid - afraid we are right, afraid of the truth (even to the point of denying it), afraid he or she has put in with an oppressive, inhumane, regime that does not respect the laws and traditions of our country, and that history will rank as the worst presidency our nation has ever had to endure.

Bush was speaking yesterday, too. He actually delivered this line about those of us who disagree with him:

Many of those folks are sincere and patriotic.

Of course, he also said we're wrong. But at least he's stopped saying we're traitors, hate America, and love the terrorists.

Now if only Cheney and Rumsfeld and the rest will stop with the treason-charging name calling, we might have a dialog. (Yeah. I know...)