I understand that language changes meaning over the course of time, yet I was surprised to wake up on the morning of Sept. 29 and find out "cooperate" is now a dirty word.
The writer of the letter "Above all other virtues" believes the practice of "cooperation" was only the tool of Nazis and communists. The founding colonies of our country, despite disagreements on just about every issue, had to cooperate to defeat the British and secure our independence. Anything less would have changed the course of history.
Cooperation is how we in the United States were able to mobilize against the Nazi regime in World War II. French citizens cooperated with American forces to undermine and obstruct German occupation. Cooperation and negotiation were important factors in the de-escalation of the Cold War.
The Constitution of this country is the product of the cooperation of many hard-headed, idealistic men who were passionate about a variety of issues, yet were able to, dare I say, compromise on some of those issues for the benefit of this country. Our Founding Fathers seemed to have been very willing to cooperate.
The letter writer shouldn't muddy the waters by turning a word like "cooperate" into something inherently evil. And he should not be frightened, either. Remember that America is the home of the brave.
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