I received a weird letter in the mail here at the Tribune the day after war broke out. It was from a group called &uot;Citizens for Doves.&uot; This group is mightily concerned that the Minnesota legislature is considering instituting a hunting season on those little white songbirds.

The timing was a coincidence, but it was interesting to me because, as you may know &uot;dove&uot; is common slang for a person who is an advocate for peace in a war debate. In that context, it seems some people have declared open season on doves already.

As war gets started, I’m still conflicted about whether it is the right thing to do. But my own feelings aside, it seems wrong for people to be questioning the patrotism of those who oppose the war.

This has all been said before: As Americans, we are free to disagree with the actions of our government, and we have freedom of speech, and exercising these rights is our privelige as Americans &045; it doesn’t make people un-American.

Saying people are un-American for opposing President Bush and the war is like saying you were un-American if you spoke out in favor of impeaching Bill Clinton. Hey, he was the President, right? If opposing Bush makes you un-American, wouldn’t it have been the same for Clinton?

Here’s an analogy I like: I love my son very much. Nobody can question that. But does that mean I always like everything he does? Anybody who’s ever been a parent knows you can still love the child but disapprove of the behavior. Same thing with a country, the way I see it. In fact, if you let your kid get away with everything without questioning, that actually makes you a bad parent.

We’ve got a lot to ponder now that bombs are falling all over Bagdhad and some of our country’s best young people are over there in harm’s way. In no way do I question the need for us to support the people in uniform, who are carrying out their orders with honor, like they are supposed to do. It always baffles me when I hear about the Vietnam War, and how people turned their anger toward the troops who were coming home. It seems like a terrible way to vent your frustrations, and it was the last thing those veterans needed after what many of them went through in Vietnam.

But I don’t see that happening this time. People don’t revile our soldiers; some of them just don’t agree with our leaders.

Of course, this kind of public criticism is entirely different from the kind of criticism we saw from Sen. Tom Daschle during Bush’s 48-hour window. If the shock and awe of war have blurred your memory, here’s a refresher: He said we’re in this position because the president’s attempts at diplomacy failed miserably. This kind of criticism has one intent and one intent only: To capitalize on this war so the Democrats can win the election in two years. If they are going to win, they need to use this war against Bush, and they can’t wait to get started. Having an honest disagreement is one thing, but political opportunism at a time like this feels more than a little sleazy. Daschle could have expressed his despair over the war without going for Bush’s jugular.

While I respect most protesters (and those who rally in support of the war, too), I think they have taken it too far when they have blocked entrances to buidings, shut down roads and otherwise caused trouble in cities like San Francisco and Chicago. Hundreds have been arrested. If you want to make your views known, rally, carry signs, chant, write letter, fine, knock yourself out. But if you start diverting police attention at a time when people are legitimately afraid of terrorist attacks you’re just plain irresponsible.

We’ve seen a lot over the last few days, both on TV and in the newspaper, where we’re watching a war unfold, and in our communities, where a different battle is brewing between people with opposite opinions. Sometimes it’s apparently been too much to ask for people around here to have disagreements without going out of bounds, but I guess I hope people in our area can accomplish that when it comes to this war.

Dylan Belden is the Tribune’s managing editor. His column appears Sundays. E-mail him at dylan.belden@albertleatribune.com.