I know this is a difficult concept for you, SDAITech1. Let me rephrase it for you:

I respect the exercize of conscience. I have no respect for blind obedience to Authority.

The Nuremburg Trials established that "I vas chust folloving odors" is no defense. The US Constitution established a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people", which is a double-edged sword: Every citizen is responsible for the actions of the government, good or bad. The government is not "them", it is "us" (in theory).

The old rallying cry of the Silent Majority, "my country, right or wrong", was taken out of context from an old English toast. The full text reads "To the Queen! May she always be right, but my country, right or wrong".

America has no monarch to blame for our mistakes. Understood in context, "my country, right or wrong", is a very unAmerican sentiment. American citizenship demands a higher standard.

--Robert

PS: You keep implying that you were around in the '60s, but I can tell you really weren't. You weren't old enough to be a member of Nixon's Silent Majority, unless there was a junior kindergarten auxilliary that I'm not aware of.