Month: April 2006

When Patriotism Becomes Isolationism

We hear a lot these days about Patriotism. Those who support the war in Iraq and the War on Terror and all its endeavors are Patriots. Those who question the policies of the Administration and are in favor of bringing home the troops are Un-Patriotic. Those who profess eternal vigilance and protest the overreach of our current Administration are Patriotic, while those who feel that the Patriot Act and similar legislation protect us from another terrorist attack are Un-Patriotic. All of these can be right or wrong, depending on your definitions and your point of view. Personally, I think that if you love your country, for whatever reason, you are a Patriot. You will take whatever action you feel is right to support and guide it.

But there is another label that has been cropping up here and there in political arguments for years. One that no one wants to have thrown at them. The kiss of death for any reasonable discussion you may have going:

Isolationist.

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Give The Man His Poetry

My attention was first drawn to the plight of Abdul Rahim Muslim Dost by an article posted yesterday by Aine Macdermot here. In brief, this Afghani man was held in Guantanamo for three years as an “enemy combatant” before being sent before a military tribunal, whereupon he was released and sent home without so much as an “Oops! Sorry about that.” In the various articles online about his case, he actually seems pretty mellow about the whole thing…except that our military promised him he would be given back all the poetry he had written while being detained, and he never has. What follows is my letter to the Department of Defense and contacts at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. Be assured that if I ever hear anything back, I will let you know. It has been said in the comment thread that follows the original article that this is a small thing, less important than securing the release of the rest of the prisoners held in Guantanamo. I certainly will not suggest that this is not true. However, sometimes small things are exemplary of the larger issues. In this case, the callous indifference of the military to this man’s work is indicative of our general disregard for the humanity of people we regard as “enemies”

If you are inclined to follow suit and send a letter of your own, they can be sent to:

[email protected] — Guantanamo
http://www.defenselink.mil/faq/comment.html — DOD

If you have any ideas for other folks to contact, please fee free to post them here.

To Whom It May Concern:

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