I think she'll be back.

Don't be too sure, Tom. Perhaps Lucy van Pelt could count on Charlie Brown to offer himself up for sacrifice over and over, but Mary Anne's not a cartoon character.

I gave up on Current Vents when you posted that mean-spirited message quoting people's reasons for flying, or not flying, the flag; rating each person "American" or "un-American" according to your narrow definition of what it means to be an American. Your "big tent" is about the size of those little paper parasols they stick in sweet drinks.

What the hell gives you the right to slice and dice your fellow citizens that way? What gives you the right to decide who's an American and worthy of respect, and who's not? Especially now, when what America desperately needs to survive and prevail is unity. You and the Ayatollahs Falwell and Robertson are exemplars of the kind of extremists who define paradise as a world cleansed of your long list of enemies. You're part of the problem.

America is much more than an economic system that produces wealth for some. America is a nation of people, characterized by high ideals and commitment to moral and ethical values, even as we exercize our right to define those values each in our own way. An American is defined by that right and the willingness to exercize it; not by allegiance to a political party, religion, or economic philosophy. An American is someone who respects and values his fellow citizens without a litmus test or identifying emblem such as the flag; someone who understands that America's basic strength and the source of its claim to moral superiority is the breadth of its big tent.

I am proud to be an American, and proud to disagree with you on most things. I understand that your right to spew venom is the price we must pay for a free society; but I also have the freedom to ignore you and relegate you to the obscurity you so richly deserve. I understand Mary Anne's reasons for leaving, and I support her. I won't post on Current Events either. Enjoy preaching to the choir.

--Robert