Redefining patriotism
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Todd Gitlin was in the midst of writing a very different book a few years ago when terrorists attacked the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001. Everything changed. Suddenly what were ruminations about how left-leaning intellectuals had influenced his own thinking seemed dated and irrelevant.
He writes in his new book, "to tell the truth, September 11th jammed my mental circuits and I spent much of the ensuing year trying to get them unjammed."
What emerged -- when he was finally ready to write again -- was the heart of his new book, "The Intellectuals and the Flag" and his thoughts about patriotism are sure to resonate with readers. Like this: "patriotism decrees that we are not free. We are obliged. Patriotism is sticky."
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