The Rise of a New American Patriotism

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All over the country, American flags are back on cars, office buildings and private homes. They're displayed in unlikely places like artists' lofts in lower Manhattan, LA's liberal West Side, and the Castro District-center of San Francisco's gay community. Some applaud what they see as national unity in a time of crisis. Others worry about pressure for conformity and support for America right or wrong. Today, journalists and historians will help us look at the history of one of our most potent symbols, and ask if dissent in a democratic society is threatened when patriotism goes too far.
  • Newsmaker: White House Rejects Israeli Criticism - Sharon compared US effort to get Arab support for the war on terrorism to European appeasement of Adolph Hitler on the eve of World War II. Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said the White House considers "the Prime Minister's comments-unacceptable." Danny Ayalon is Foreign Policy Advisor to Prime Minister Sharon.
  • Reporter's Notebook: Is Nightmare Conflict in Afghanistan Myth? - Harsh terrain and the ferociousness of indigenous soldiers are cited for arguments that the US will face the same quagmire that stymied the Soviet Union in 1989. We'll talk to a freelance journalist based in Melbourne, Australia who's been there and says that the nightmare vision of war in Afghanistan is over-hyped.

CECILIA ELIZABETH O'LEARY

The Nation

MICHAEL LIND

GARY GERSTLE'S recent book

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney