Public safety can be patriotic.(Commentary)

Byline: Mark A. Hofmann

A piece of paper I recently received at a Metro station raises an intriguing question-is promoting a patriotic duty? More precisely, is personal risk management a public as well as personal obligation?

This is not a question raised by most of the pieces of paper thrust at me at Metro stations. Being handed unwanted handbills is part of the experience of riding the Washington area's subway system.

The slips of paper generally come from:

* Particularly noxious political fringe groups.

* Supporters of hopelessly utopian causes.

* Adherents of diverse religions known and unknown.

* Pizza places, ethnic …