A few days ago Fabio Albertin ("Spying program helps find our enemies," Jan. 23) wrote that "many liberals have become so extreme and have fallen so deeply in love with so-called extreme Muslim or communist ideologies that they have come very close to being enemies of America themselves." If Albertin is on a witch-hunt for signs of extremism, he should look in the mirror. To call liberals "enemies of America" is to ignore not only current events, but also all of American history.
During the Gilded Age, liberal reformists created worker protections and outlawed monopolistic business practices. During the Great Depression, liberals created Social Security, minimum wage, and job programs to help the unemployed. During the Civil Rights movement, liberals fought to extend rights to African-Americans while white conservatives enforced segregation throughout the South. Since then, liberals have taken up the causes of women's rights, gay rights, disability rights, etc., in order to make America truly democratic and inclusive.
Since 9/11, liberals have worked hard to ensure that national security overhauls have occurred legally and effectively - even if it meant opposing President Bush when he approved a plan to give western Republican states such as Wyoming more anti-terror funding per capita than places like New York, where attacks actually occurred. Liberals are not "enemies of America" simply because they cry foul every time the Bush Administration breaks the law or circumvents the Constitution.
Loving America means defending its constitution and monitoring its politicians - not simply flag-waving and slapping "Support Your Troops" bumper stickers on the back of SUVs. How can conservatives shout "freedom! freedom!" while simultaneously condemning anyone who disagrees with the Bush Administration as "un-American" and "an enemy of our country?" Perhaps conservatives only want freedom for those who think as they do, which doesn't sound very democratic to me.
