Yes, Together We Applaud

People on the right have a certain authoritarian vision of patriotism that insists on unanimity. I once experienced that vision firsthand, while attending a protest at a Jerry Falwell rally. Moral Majority volunteers boxed us in on all sides, grabbed our hands (tightly, without our consent), as everyone sang 'America, The Beautiful'. Yes, Together We Sang!

Thelma Domenici, sister of Senator Pete, kind of creeps me out, with that same authoritarian mindset. She misrepresents events at the Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport in order to convey that same sense of unanimity (emphasis added).

In the Dallas airport on the final travel leg of my journey home, I was changing concourses when over the public address system a voice said: "Attention. The airport manager would like to speak to you. In just a few minutes, a group of our troops returning from Iraq is going to deplane. If you look up, you'll see a glass wall. That is the walkway you'll see them going through. Please join us in welcoming our soldiers back home."

As I looked up, the doors opened and, for the next 25 minutes, these men and women moved through that walkway above us and, for 25 minutes, the applause never diminished. We couldn't hear each other, but the energy of connection was there. They threw back hugs and kisses and we waved and cheered. We could feel them, and they could feel us.

It was the most profound, grateful, heartfelt, absolutely spontaneous reaction I've ever experienced. It gave me an incredible sensation as a cross-section of America sitting in this airport stood in unison to applaud our troops. In the entire concourse, no one was sitting and the applause never stopped or even faltered. I was so amazed, I had to share it with someone close, so I dialed my sister in Virginia and held out the cell phone.

Yet, this response, while heartfelt, is not spontaneous, but rather, is well-orchestrated by a group of volunteers:

On any given morning, about 50 volunteers are at the airport to greet the 250 or so soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

The crowds of supporters, many waving posters or wearing red, white and blue clothing, embraced the troops, offering hugs, kisses, handshakes and pats on the back. Others showed their support, providing food, cigarettes, and in Ms. Barron’s case, free minutes so soldiers could call home.

“It’s nice,” said Army Spc. Justin Steiner, who was fighting in Afghanistan. “Sometimes we feel forgotten with all the action going on over in Iraq.”

There are all types of volunteers -- Vietnam War veterans, office workers, church members and students. On Tuesday, even the horse mascot for the Weatherford Wranglers baseball team trotted to the terminal.

Which is all well and fine. I'm sure many passersby get caught up in the spirit and applaud spontaneously as well. I'm sure if I was there at DFW, I'd applaud too. But then, at least I could spy the cheerleaders. Not like the folks reading about it secondhand from Domenici in the Albuquerque Tribune.

There is something unpleasant about Domenici not informing one's readership about the organized nature of the applause. While most of the country supports the troops, most of the country does not support the mission, at least the Iraqi part of it: even if there is a mission, since the rationale mutates into a different shape every six months, depending on contingencies. This business of unanimity is all about boxing the liberals in, just like the Moral Majority used to do.

Happy Fourth of July!