The last U.S. military execution was in 1961, when President Kennedy signed off on the hanging of Army Pfc. John A. Bennett for the rape and attempted murder of an 11-year-old Austrian girl.
Today, we defend soldiers for such actions near bases around the world. We are preparing to execute dozens of suspected terrorists who have never been tried in a court and were denied the Grand Writ of Habeus Corpus. Torture and execution of prisoners sounds a lot like what we claim to go to war to stop, not a virtue, but those of us who think that these things are reprehensible are now unpatriotic.
This is the country that I love, the one who declared, "We hold these truths to be self evident that ALL (emphasis mine) men are created equal..." Patriotism is a love for our country's ideals and values. These are dark and scary times indeed.
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