To the editor:

Very shortly after reading Marty Kennedy’s letter regarding John Kerry’s actions and words during the war in Vietnam, I heard Republican Sen. John McCain on ABC’s This Week program. This war hero and former POW said:

“I was fighting for the right of the people of Vietnam to peacefully oppose their government. How could I be critical of a U.S. citizen doing the same thing? To do so dishonors the names on the Vietnam War Memorial.”

Disagreeing with our government was not then, or is it now, “dishonorable, unforgivable or insulting.” It is our right.

To quote another Republican, Theodore Roosevelt, “To announce there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is also morally treasonable to the American public.”

Phil Minkin,

Lawrence