Conservatives from all over Delaware — and then some — gathered on Legislative Mall Aug. 8 to vent their frustration at the way the nation is being run out of Washington, D.C.

    Billed as the “Silent No More” rally, it was called ostensibly to focus on the health care reform package proposed by the Obama administration. But there were many other subjects on the table as well.

    I heard a talk outlining the principles of the Constitution Party; a speech by Sen. Colin Bonini, R-Dover, urging listeners to fight back against “them,” members of the General Assembly who allegedly waste taxpayer money; and an impassioned talk by Pennsylvanian Ana Puig on the “Moral Crisis Afflicting America.”

    These and other speakers often were met with applause whenever they discussed “taking back America” and “fighting for our rights,” and with catcalls when names such as Barack Obama or even moderates like Mike Castle were mentioned. The crowd was estimated at about 1,000, about 70% of whom were like me, on the other side of 50.

    However well meaning Puig, Bonini and the other speakers were, there still were some disturbing undercurrents to the gathering. One term I heard more than once referred to the opposition as “Kool Aid drinkers,” a vile phrase used to describe people so committed to their cause that they ignore facts in conflict with their own viewpoints.

    It refers to the Guyana tragedy of 1978, where more than 900 people committed suicide by drinking poisoned Kool Aid rather than desert their megalomaniacal religious leader, Jim Jones.

    This term works both ways, however. There were people at the Silent No More rally whose unstinting belief the president is a Muslim-Kenyan-Communist or that proposed health care rules means the government will rule that you’re no longer worthy of living, who could be described the same way.

    Hopefully these people were a distinct minority at the rally, and I trust they are throughout the country as well.

    Groups such as the 9-12 Delaware Patriots or those putting on Tea Parties are not homogenous. Many indeed have valid concerns about the direction the nation is headed, but they need to get away from the angry rhetoric and crass insults that cloud their message and make them appear unreasoning and out of touch.

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    We had a complaint last week about the length of letters to the editor, with the writer’s grouse being our requirement such letters be no more than 500 words long.

    The reason is pretty simple: being a weekly paper, we only have so much room for letters, and by keeping those letters to a decent length we can allow more people to express their opinions in these pages. A second reason is that if you can’t make your case in fewer than 500 words, you won’t be able to make it at all.

    Even the Gettysburg Address is only 243 words long.

    Another point: The Post will not publish anonymous or “concerned citizen” letters. The reasoning is simple: If you have a concern or complaint, be prepared to identify yourself and stand by it.

Email Jeff Brown at jeff.brown@doverpost.com.