Dear Editor,

If we castigate those who decline to perform nationalistic rituals, we are no longer able to carry the banner “Land of the Free.”

One of the basic tenants of freedom is the liberty to be different, even if you find it at odds with your own thinking.

Liberty also means freedom from despotic control; there are countries today which demand all citizens pay homage to the state, against their will, with consequences for non-compliance.

We are not one of those countries and we must not allow our ourselves to become one.

David Youngberg

Forks