Propaganda Day.

I just finished reading your article "The Danger of a Federal Curriculum" (October 17 issue) about the congressionally mandated Constitution Day, and it deeply affected me. I have recently had a personal experience with the new "Unconstitutional Day" (as the article puts it).

I am currently attending Louisiana State University in Shreveport. Since I plan to study law, and especially constitutional law, I was naturally quite interested, though skeptical, about what my school would do to implement the new law. My skepticism turned out to be well-founded. The event put on by the school was a speech by Rhode Island Supreme Court Chief Justice Hon. E J. Williams.

His speech consisted mainly of "debunking myths" about the Constitution. I won't go into details, but essentially there were six "myths" that he dealt with, and he wasn't wrong every time. The "myths" were generally either not particularly important, or they were obvious to anyone who can read. The final "myth," however, was very important.

Essentially, the speaker stated that the military tribunals set up by the president to try U.S. citizens are legitimate. After reading your article, I realize that far from educating the public, the federal government is actually propagandizing us by having respected "scholars" (one of the terms used to describe the speaker) tell us that dictatorial policies are constitutional. It infuriates me that such things are done under the guise of "increasing awareness of the Constitution." I only disagree with your article in one respect: I would change the name from "Unconstitutional Day" to "Propaganda Day."

JOSHUA SCOTT

Benton, Louisiana