How to win friends and influence people, cont'd.

Bud Kennedy at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes of a Tea Party in his Texas city, in which secessionist activist Larry Kilgore knocked down all of the United States flags on the platform.

Later, [Mr. Kilgore] wrote on Facebook: "Many people were angry that I tossed their idol to the floor." He called partyers "idol worshipers."

I agree that too many freedom-loving Americans confuse love of country and its traditions with mindless nationalism; but theatrics like this, like those of the Latinos at the rally in Phoenix, only discredit their cause. And in Mr. Kilgore's case, it happens to be my cause.

Only by respecting people can we hope to persuade them. We don't have to act like the Three Stooges to get our point across.