McCoy letter: Be patriotic and speak up

One definition of patriotism is love of one’s country. I had multiple tours in Vietnam and I loved my country but I still questioned it at times. Our conservative voters allowed Nixon to keep that war going longer than it should have and, as a result, we lost thousands more of our military. I remember just being incredulous that the debate over the size, shape and who would sit where at the negotiation table went on for a long time. Meantime, the protest movement grew and helped to end the war. I came back in January 1970 and the war was still going on. I wrote letters, talked to people, did anything I could to try to end it. Did that make me unpatriotic? I think that the Americans who are for Trump and not standing up to him are unpatriotic. If you had a loved one doing something wrong wouldn’t you speak to them and try to let them know that their behaviors were harmful and dangerous? Well, that is happening to our country now and not enough people are speaking up. Come on, fellow Americans. Write, speak up, do something before it’s too late.

This story was originally published March 24, 2017 at 11:38 PM with the headline "McCoy letter: Be patriotic and speak up."