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My son argues with me almost every time I use the word "treason" to describe the actions of liberals. His response to my use of the word in a recent column was to e-mail me the following: "Treason is very much in the realm of specific acts pertaining to the national security of the nation, and I don't think being a whiny liberal qualifies as treason." Perhaps, but it comes close.

Take, for example, the senseless comments of Natalie Maines, lead singer of the Dixie Chicks. Maines created a firestorm a couple of years ago by telling a British audience she was ashamed that President Bush is from her native Texas. This was enough to cause many of the Chicks' fans to cancel tickets, toss their CDs, and cancel plans to ever see them in concert. It also started a feud between Maines and Toby Keith, who has done his best to show solidarity in America's war on terror and to support our troops at every opportunity.

But like all ignorant liberals (redundant, I know), Natalie Maines just can't stop herself from saying stupid things. Most recently, Maines made this statement: "The entire country may disagree with me, but I don't understand the necessity for patriotism. Why do you have to be a patriot? About what? This land is our land? Why? You can like where you live and like your life, but as for loving the whole country, I don't see why people care about patriotism."

I yearn to bruise my knuckles on her forehead.

Like every gasbag with a soapbox before her, from Jane Fonda to Barbra Streisand, Natalie Maines has no clue what it took in blood, sweat and sacrifice to obtain the freedom she now so blithely takes for granted. Unfortunately for us, her celebrity gives her a mass forum with which to waste our time, and her fame lends an air of credibility to her obtuseness.

Not to be outdone, pop star Conor Oberst and his band Bright Eyes returned to their native Omaha for a free concert in Memorial Park. During the concert, the audience was inculcated with the political inanities of The World According To Conor, who believes that his celebrity makes him privy to wisdom that the rest of us just cannot access. Oberst called President Bush "an idiot." Wow. Now there is a dissertation of cogent analysis for you.

It has become standard operating procedure for celebrity elitists to bash the president and America's involvement in Iraq. But it is Natalie Maines' latest comment that should most concern us, because it reflects an attitude of indifference toward American sovereignty. Does she imagine that the prosperity that has enabled her to make millions just happened by accident? Does she fail to see that for over two centuries patriots have sacrificed their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor in order to ensure that she can live in freedom?

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