Dear Editor: I found Eric Alterman's arguments against the 'hate America Left' to be very weak, since he provides us with no examples of representatives of this group. To whom is Alterman referring when he writes of lefties who find 'nothing to admire in (the US) consitution' or 'the fitful history of struggle toward greater freedom..for oppressed groups' etc? Is he referring to Noam Chomsky who makes frequent reference to the importance of civil liberties for oppressed groups to effect social change in the US? Is he referring to Howard Zinn, who I think it is fair to say has a pretty self-evident appreciation of the bill of rights and struggles for social justice in the US. Is Alterman talking about Rosa Parks who signed onto a petition against Bush and Congress's new "war"? Just where are these (representative) leftists that lack Alterman's appreciation of "an idealistic belief in a kind of cosmopolitan, humanist internationalism"?
Stephen Philion Minneapolis, MN