Leaders Use Patriotism to Justify Today's 'Holy Wars' By RICHARD E. CROSS Our country is torn apart by controversy when it comes to the subject of war. Americans are at odds over the meaning of "patriotism" and "supporting our troops." In our own local paper there has been an ongoing and heated exchange on the subject. Amid these arguments, however, we can observe a dangerous and distorted concept of "patriotism" that has become a new kind of "religion" for some. The state has become an object of worship, and the age-old mantra of "holy war" has once again been involved to mislead and deceive the citizens of our homeland. Hermann Goering, Hitler's second in command, said it cynically but acutely: "The people can always be brought to do the bidding of their leaders. That is easy. All you have to is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the fatherland t...