A Must-Read for Coalition Members

The Politburo Diktat (a Coalition member) has a remarkably well done post entitled 'Questioning Patriotism' that I strongly urge you to read. The Commissar argues that by donning the guise of unflinching, partisan patriotism, with no room for dissent from the party line, that many bloggers are being quite unpatriotic, whether consciously or not. I prefer to stear clear of the 'patriotism' line, as I find it to be too inflammatory a term for reasonable argument (i.e., 'How dare you question my patriotism?', etc., etc.).

However, I do concur, and find it increasingly troublesome, that there is a whole lot of playing to the bleachers going on in the blogosphere (and I've done it, too, lest anyone accuse me of hypocrisy). I'm trying more and more to avoid it, though; that doesn't mean I'm a 'maverick' or 'contrarian'; I just happen to think that originality and a degree of independence are essential for the long-term health of the blogging community.