MICHELE NORRIS, Host:
Time now to hear your letters about Friday's program.
MELISSA BLOCK, Host:
Several of you wrote in about our co-host Robert Siegel's interview with history professor Julian Zelizer. They talked about flag lapel pins. Zelizer believes one reason for the current use of these pins is the lack of a military draft.
P: We had 30 years from World War II though the '60s where you had to serve. We don't have that anymore, so there's a kind of vagueness in terms of, you know, how do you show that you're really patriotic? And then it lends itself to symbolic things like putting a pin on your coat.
NORRIS: Joseph Ferrell(ph) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, wrote, wrapping oneself in the flag or simply wearing a pin may open one to Samuel Johnson's charge that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. Mr. Ferrell says voting, abiding by the law, challenging the law when it's wrong, defending or criticizing elected officials, discussing important issues with fellow citizens - all of these are just some of the ways that one can show patriotism.
BLOCK: It seems former North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms proved to be as provocative in death as he was in life. Here he is campaigning in 1990.
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NORRIS: Just think about it, homosexuals, lesbians, disgusting people marching in our streets demanding all sorts of things including the right to marry each other...
(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE)
NORRIS: ...and the right to adopt children. How do you like them apples?
BLOCK: Well, many of you wrote in about our coverage on the day the conservative Republican died.
NORRIS: I was revulsed by your fairly glowing obituary, writes Jonathan Ervin(ph) of Lafayette, Louisiana. Helms was a classic Southern bully who attacked minorities, the weak, the marginalized, and anyone else who was not a white Southerner. And like many Southern politicians, he attempted to rehabilitate his image as his life came to a close. It's a shame that NPR cooperated with this. I expected a more critical examination from you.
BLOCK: But Elizabeth McLaughlin(ph) of Akron, Ohio, had a different reaction. She writes: I don't know that I can hail him as the White House did, as a true patriot, but I can remember Jesse Helms as a true voice of an era. I look around at my integrated neighborhood, at the interracial families, the gay households, and I'm encouraged. At the same time, I know that I will take attitudes and prejudices that I'm not even aware of to my grave. And the world will be better off for that, too. We are defined by our adversaries as by no one else. Rest in peace, Mr. Helms. I will light a candle for you.
NORRIS: You can write to us by going to npr.org. Click on "contact us" at the top of the page, and please be sure to tell us where you live and how to pronounce your name. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.