THE BELL CURVE:

At the risk of flogging a dead horse, I’d like to continue, briefly, the dialogue relating to exchanges of points of view in this newspaper and in the blogs it inspires.

As the political campaign heats up, I presume the exchanges will as well — and that’s all to the good. Stimulating discourse is the way a democracy works.

We can hope the discourse is civil. Otherwise it cuts off communication. But if some uncivil stuff gets through, I suppose that’s the risk we take.

So, speaking solely for myself and not this newspaper or the other columnists who write for it, I’d like to suggest three points that I hope can be avoided.

First, I would ask to be criticized for what I say and not for what the critic thinks I say or expected me to say. For example, last week in a letter to the Pilot, Ila Johnson took me to task — not the first time — for a multitude of sins. In her lead paragraph, she wrote: “In his recent column, Joseph Bell yearns for the country he came home to after World War II. The country he remembers does not exactly conform to reality.”

And here’s what I actually wrote to inspire this reaction. “I know how easy it is to look to the past as the good old days and yearn for their return. But that would ignore the critical domestic problems in this country after World War II — especially in the area of civil rights — that were acknowledged and addressed.”

So no, Ila, in answer to your question, I wouldn’t want those times back. And I didn’t say I did.

Second, I would hope that we don’t label everyone who doesn’t agree with us as unpatriotic.

Those are cheap shots, easy to fire off, that put the victim in an absurd defensive role, like trying to prove you are good to your mother. Or, closer to home, like Barack Obama putting on a flag lapel pin.

And third, that we would distinguish clearly between the courageous men and women putting their lives on the line daily in combat and the leaders whose policies put them there.

They are not one and the same. While our prayers support our troops, so does an active citizenry that seeks clarity and honesty and competence in our leadership with reasoned criticism. Anger at such criticism as non-support of our troops might be far better directed at our representatives in Congress who recently voted against a renewal of the GI Bill of Rights.

Even though it may support Ila Johnson’s thesis, I must admit I spent eight hours on Delta Air Lines last week longing for the good old days. Almost made me wonder if oil rigs in the ocean vistas I love maybe aren’t that bad after all. That’s the sort of thinking that can grow out of the disappearance of a free meal — even of tasteless chicken — in the midst of a lengthy air trip.

This is nothing against Delta. From what I read and hear from friends who travel, all the commercial airlines are equally guilty. And the common cause, of course, is the prohibitively inflated cost of oil. My rubber chicken in the air is being consumed by a passel of sheiks in Saudi Arabia and several multibillion-dollar increases in profit for Chevron, Mobil and the rest of that crew.

There’s a certain amount of hypocrisy here. I’ve never before carried a torch for airline food. Mostly I found it lacking charisma and any suggestion of creativity. But it was free and moderately filling, and so I found myself longing for it on Delta where the only free fare offered was packaged crackers, cookies and mini-pretzels. If that didn’t carry me to the next airport, I had the option of buying food from a menu full of cheerful descriptions. Six to 10 bucks a pop for the likes of a fried chicken sandwich or a shrimp salad, or three bucks for a chocolate bar or a trail mix. To wash this down, we were offered — for six bucks — a pomegranate martini (whatever that is), a margarita or a can of beer.

I settled for a wisp of gin in a tiny bottle and brooded about the good old days when the quality was dubious but the food — and at one time in the really good old days, the booze — was free. And I’ll kick in a few bucks to a candidate who will promise to tap into those obscene profits to provide free meals for air travelers.

Finally, another new Great Park sighting. They’re coming almost yearly, now.

At that rate, the park should be ready to ring in the new century.

This time, we have a ring of 17 acres of grass beneath the anchored balloon, recently put back in service after several months of safety repairs. Although the balloon ride is about all the park proponents have to show for expenditures of some $50 million over the past six years, the passengers can now look down on green grass instead of the concrete runways still in place on the air field.

But take heart. There is now a “preview park” of coming attractions.

Still no date on when the feature will start. Watch this space for sightings.

JOSEPH N. BELL lives in Newport Beach. His column runs Thursdays.