Over Memorial Day weekend, MSNBC host Chris Hayes ignited a little firestorm with his comments and questions about the use of the word “hero” to describe those American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who die in our wars.

Conservative bloggers led the charge in denouncing Hayes. They shouldn’t have. Hayes wasn’t attacking the war dead. He wasn’t even concluding that we shouldn’t use the word “hero” to describe them. He was using his feelings — discomfort rooted in concern that the label applies a positive pressure towards U.S. entry into more wars — to open a discussion.