Patriotism is not blind trust in anything our leaders tell us or do. ===========================
Duh! This dude is a moron On Jul 1, 3:59 pm, MJ <[email protected]> wrote: > The True Meaning of PatriotismPatriotism Is Not the Waving of a FlagLawrence > W. Reed > June 2003 • Volume: 53 • Issue: 6 • > Patriotism these days is like Christmas -- lots of people caught up in a > festive atmosphere replete with lights and spectacles. We hear reminders > about “the true meaning” of Christmas -- and we may even mutter a few > guilt-ridden words to that effect ourselvesbut each of us spends more time > and thought in parties, gift-giving, and the other paraphernalia of a > secularized holiday than we do deepening our devotion to the true meaning. > So it is with patriotism, especially on Memorial Day in May, Flag Day in > June, and Independence Day in July. Walk down Main Street America and ask one > citizen after another what patriotism means and with few exceptions, you’ll > get a passel of the most self-righteous but superficial and often dead-wrong > answers. America’s Founders, the men and women who gave us reason to be > patriotic in the first place, would think we’ve lost our way if they could > see us now. > Since the infamous attacks of September 11, 2001, Americans in near unanimity > have been “feeling” patriotic. For most, that sadly suffices to make one a > solid patriot. But if I’m right, it’s time for Americans to take a refresher > course. > Patriotism isnotlove of country, if by “country” you mean sceneryamber waves > of grain, purple mountain majesty, and the like. Almost every country has > pretty collections of rocks, water, and stuff that people grow and eat. If > that’s what patriotism is all about, then Americans have precious little for > which we can claim any special or unique love. And surely, patriotism cannot > mean giving one’s life for a river or a mountain range. > Patriotism is not blind trust in anything our leaders tell us or do. That > just replaces some lofty concepts with mindless goose-stepping. > Patriotism is not simply showing up to vote. You need to know a lot more > about what motivates a voter before you judge his patriotism. He might be > casting a ballot because he just wants something at someone else’s expense. > Maybe he doesn’t much care where the politician he’s hiring gets it. Remember > Dr. Johnson’s wisdom: “Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” > Waving the flag can be an outward sign of patriotism, but let’s not cheapen > the term by ever suggesting that it’s anything more than a sign. And while > it’s always fitting to mourn those who lost their lives simply because they > resided on American soil, that too does not define patriotism. > People in every country and in all times have expressed feelings of something > we flippantly call “patriotism,” but that just begs the question. What is > this thing, anyway? Can it be so cheap and meaningless that a few gestures > and feelings make you patriotic? > Not in my book. > I subscribe to a patriotism rooted in ideas that in turn gave birth to a > country, but it’s theideasthat I think of when I’m feeling patriotic. I’m a > patriotic American because I revere the ideas that motivated the Founders and > compelled them, in many instances, to put their lives, fortunes, and sacred > honor on the line. > What ideas? Read the Declaration of Independence again. Or, if you’re like > most Americans these days, read it for the very first time. It’s all there. > All men are created equal. They are endowed not by government but by their > Creator with certain unalienable rights. Premier among those rights are life, > liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Government must be limited to > protecting the peace and preserving our liberties, and doing so through the > consent of the governed. It’s the right of a free people to rid themselves of > a government that becomes destructive of those ends, as our Founders did in a > supreme act of courage and defiance more than two hundred years ago. > Call it freedom. Call it liberty. Call it whatever you want, but it’s the > bedrock on which this nation was founded and from which we stray at our > peril. It’s what has defined us as Americans. It’s what almost everyone who > has ever lived on this planet has yearned for. It makes life worth living, > which means it’s worth fighting and dying for.An American SpinI know that > this concept of patriotism puts an American spin on the term. But I don’t > know how to be patriotic for Uganda or Paraguay. I hope the Ugandans and > Paraguayans have lofty ideals they celebrate when they feel patriotic, but > whether or not they do is a question you’ll have to ask them. I can only tell > you what patriotism means to me as an American. > I understand that America has often fallen short of the superlative ideas > expressed in the Declaration. That hasn’t diminished my reverence for them, > nor has it dimmed my hope that future generations of Americans will be > re-inspired by them. > This brand of patriotism, in fact, gets me through the roughest and most > cynical of times. My patriotism is never affected by any politician’s > failures, or any shortcoming of some government policy, or any slump in the > economy or stock market. I never cease to get that “rush” that comes from > watching Old Glory flapping in the breeze, no matter how far today’s > generations have departed from the original meaning of those stars and > stripes. No outcome of any election, no matter how adverse, makes me feel any > less devoted to the ideals our Founders put to pen in 1776. Indeed, as life’s > experiences mount, the wisdom of what giants like Jefferson and Madison > bestowed on us becomes ever more apparent to me. I get more fired up than > ever to help others come to appreciate the same things. > During a recent visit to the land of my ancestors, Scotland, I came across a > few very old words that gave me pause. Though they preceded our Declaration > of Independence by 456 years, and come from three thousand miles away, I can > hardly think of anything ever written here that more powerfully stirs in me > the patriotism I’ve defined above. In 1320, in an effort to explain why they > had spent the previous 30 years in bloody battle to expel the invading > English, Scottish leaders ended their Declaration of Arbroath with this line: > “It is not for honor or glory or wealth that we fight, but for freedom alone, > which no good man gives up except with his life.” > Freedomunderstanding it, living it, teaching it, and supporting those who are > educating others about its principles. That, my fellow Americans, is what > patriotism should mean to each of us > today.http://www.thefreemanonline.org/columns/the-true-meaning-of-patriotism/ -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
