AS A conservative, I find myself embarrassed and angered by the appalling behavior of so many who fail to understand the nation they claim to love.

Recent pressure, predominantly from the right, to support our troops abroad by silencing political dissent at home is a contradiction of American values and an affront to the stalwart Americans who wear the uniform.

Moreover, it is a dangerous indication of just how poorly American liberal democracy is understood by many in our nation. Among other values, America is built on a commitment to civil liberties.

The simple facts that put the lie to all the whining on the right are these: No single political position is a litmus test for patriotism, and support for our troops is not coupled to a particular political doctrine.

Our soldiers, sailors and Marines fight because they believe democracy is worth defending, regardless of the politics of those who send them into harm's way. The U.S. military does not decide what wars to fight. I have never been a Marine, but I believe I can say with confidence that they do not sit up all night on the eve of a deployment holding a referendum on their participation.

Our nation is blessed with dedicated sons and daughters who volunteer to do the unpleasant, messy job of violently defending our peaceful principles.

Every American should be grateful for the gift they lay on the altar of democracy.

It is our president and Congress, all civilian elected officials, who direct the actions of our military. These civilian leaders must be held accountable by the citizens who elect them, both to assure that their actions are in the best interest of our nation and to protect the lives of our brothers and sisters who serve in uniform.

Dissent is not merely a privilege bestowed upon us by the sacrifices of soldiers, as some have been saying. That view is an unfortunate perversion of a larger idea.

Dissent is a foundational principle of our nation, born of the sacrifices of soldiers and citizens alike. It is a right and, in fact, a responsibility of all those who live in a democracy.

If we disagree with a policy, we are obliged to do all we can, within the law, to change it. If we believe our elected leaders are taking a reckless course, we are obliged to hold them responsible. If we fail to do so, we do not fully realize what our nation stands for and we do not deserve the liberty we take for granted.

The struggle to protect freedom is constant, but by no means only on the battlefield. It continues in our newspapers, our schools, our courtrooms and our political institutions.

Soldiers died on the beaches of Normandy to protect our liberty, but so did Medgar Evers, who served honorably only to be gunned down 19 years later while trying to build a better nation for all of us.

Red-baiting scoundrels in the 1950s tried to silence dissent with innuendo and prevarication. Those who stood up to them are heroes.

It has been said recently that campus organizers don't defend liberty, soldiers do. Well, tell that to an African-American who registered to vote in the Freedom Summer of 1964 with the help of college students bused in by campus organizers.

There have always been those among us who have panicked in times of crisis and, in their cowardice, tried to short-circuit constitutional protections or bully dissenters into silence. They wrap themselves in the flag they claim to love while violating the principles for which it stands.

I have no patience for those who fail so completely to understand democracy, who think so little of our troops that they vow their support and in the next breath trample the liberties being defended with American blood.

People who fear ideas, who fear free and open debate, have been around for a long time. They ran Germany for a while, they used to run Russia and they used to run Iraq. We have no use for them here.

Douglas M. Sheeley is a biochemist who lives in Elkridge, Maryland.

Copyright © 2003, The Baltimore Sun

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