There were many articles in the newspaper over the 4th of July weekend asking this question. Most of them had ordinary citizens answer the question and some sought answers from the presumed presidential candidates from the Rebloodlicans and Democryps (the federal government’s version of the Bloods and Cryps).
Amazingly enough to me, they all seemed to miss the whole point. Here were some common answers:
• Saying the pledge of allegiance
• Holding your hand over your heart during the national anthem
• Flying the national flag
• Sporting “support the troops” bumper stickers on your car
• Tying yellow ribbons on trees
These are all symbolic gestures that, if you don't do them, will invoke a judgment of non-patriotism from those that are uninitiated or uneducated about our history. Personally, these don't do shit for me. Nor do country western artists singing about kicking ass, pictures of eagles in front of flags, or statements like "you're either with us or you're a terrorist". Being a retired veteran, these just sound like Chickenhawks to me - those that talk a big line but stop short of actually enlisting and putting their own ass (instead of your sons' and daughters' asses) on the line.
The roots of American patriotism reach back to the 17th century and the Puritans. Puritans thought of themselves as God's chosen people, yet as students of the Bible, they knew that God also chastised his children when they strayed from the covenant. That gives American patriotism a particular character. This is why choosing not to do the symbolic gestures above will evoke judgment from many Americans – it’s confused with religion. That's why headlines like I read in the Fort Worth newspaper - "A Vote Against Bush is a Vote Against God" work on your conscience. There’s an element of guilt that runs through this kind of patriotism. On a side note, I wish to be free of the moralists, whom I have found to be some of the biggest offenders of their own rules. Prior to the Civil war, the contemporary notion of national patriotism did not exist. Loyalty was given to the state in the Jeffersonian tradition. Remember the concept of United States during the birth of our nation? It was not the Federal Nation of America or the Federal Government of America.
Patriotism should denote a positive and supportive attitude towards a nation, state, region, or fatherland and covers such attitudes as pride in its achievements and culture, the desire to preserve its character and the basis of the culture, and identification with other members of the nation, state or region.
To me, a patriot is a person who regards themselves as a defender of individual and state rights against interference by the federal government.
I consider myself a patriot, not because of my 20 years of service in the military but because I KNOW what patriotism is and I live it daily.
So what, you may ask, is patriotism in my view? It is going a step further than just showing that positive and supportive attitude. It’s calling the federal government on the carpet when they cause our United States to stray from the principles that we embraced when this nation was founded; principles such as insuring domestic tranquility or securing the blessing of liberty for ourselves (words from the US Constitution). We should also admonish the federal government when they run us into unbelievable national debt, get us into concocted wars, attack sovereign nations that did not attack us, lock down our borders, or condone torture. These are not the principles I embrace as an Idahoan, Mountain State citizen, or an American and they certainly elicit no pride in my country’s behavior.
No, I do not want to go live somewhere else. I love this country; enough that I want it to get back on course and become, once again, the shining example it has been in the past. It takes patriots to do that.
“Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.” – Although often misquoted as Jefferson, it’s still an awesome statement.
As I said last 4th of July, without the dissent of those treasonous traitors such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Hancock, George Washington, or Paul Revere….we’d all still be speaking the King’s English today.
And they said the Dixie Chicks weren’t patriots. Get real. I'm "not ready to make nice" either.
2 comments:
Excellent post, Craig. I agree 100%!
This was brilliant and eloquent. I absolute loved it and agree with the message. This needs to published in a newspaper or magazine somewhere. It's what a lot of America really needs to hear.
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