Letter: Patriotism used to push agenda

Friday, Oct. 19, 2001 | 4:19 a.m.

Jeffrey Pyle, in his Oct. 14 letter, accuses the nebulous "American Left" of using the killing of 5,000 innocent Americans to further their own political agenda.

Well, I will emphatically state the "American Right" is doing the same thing, using the patriotic fervor stirred up by these deaths to further their agenda, beginning with attempts to erode sections of the Bill of Rights. Particularly the First and Fourth Amendments.

And I predict an attempt to push through a lot of mean-spirited legislation (dismantling of Social Security and Medicare, an assault on the environment, destruction of public education) and a continuation of the Bush re-election campaign, which began on Sept. 12!

I would remind the public that the same problems that faced the country on Sept. 10 are still there and getting worse while the nation's attention is being diverted to a grandstanding bombing overkill in Afghanistan.

My opinion is that if we let this distraction cause severe economic hardship and erosion of the constitution in this country, Osama bin Laden will have won no matter his eventual destiny!

DAN OLIVIER