Patriotism

This weekend many people are pondering their personal ideas about patriotism. Nearly two years ago I posted a piece in which I pondered some personal thoughts about patriotism. Today I present that writing for review. The thinking is fresh as the day of the orginal.



Every week I have the privilege of standing on street corners with a group of war protesters. Every week we get various names thrown our way. The list is not endless, but the various epithets are several in number. "Patriot" has not to date been among the various suggestions. In the early days of protesting I took those epithets as a personal affront. No longer. Today I have a fine idea just who I am and what my life is about. Today in addition to being a patriot I am a husband, father, stepfather, worker, consumer, gardener, Vietnam veteran, war protester, and so much more.

The dictionary defines a patriot as a person who is devoted to and ready to support or defend his country. Patriotism according to the dictionary is not defined by race, wealth, or home address. It is not defined or limited by sex, skin color, or age. My version of patriotism grows out of a sense of loyalty to the founding principles of this country. I truly love what this country could become if we were allowed to follow the founding principles of liberty and justice for all. FOR ALL. Liberty and justice were not reserved for the rich, the famous, or the powerful but given freely to every person in this country when the Constitution was written.

In the name of fighting terrorism we have seen our freedoms severely limited first by an administration acting on behalf of itself and now by a Congress too spineless act on behalf of the people. These acts done in the name of Patriotism take away much of what I understand to be the truest meaning of the word; although those supporting such laws and acts may hold a different opinion.

Under the principles of liberty and justice for all we would have universal education and opportunities for all to find their own ways in the system. We would have universal health care so that all could live to the fullest without restriction in accordance with a ability to pay to maintain their bodies. We would see elected officials ready to serve the population from which their voting support was drawn instead of abiding the corporate interests which offer the most money for the reelection campaign. We would have a country in which people have real job opportunities where the welfare of the employee would come ahead of the corporate bottom line. We would have a country in which people honestly respected different opinions and in which people listened to one another without throwing rocks at each other.

In this country of liberty and justice for all we would have respect for governments and populations outside our borders. We would not feel obligated to invade foreign soil in order to establish our own peculiar version of democracy. Instead we would lead the world by example as true leaders and not as bullies trying to be biggest on the block.

Is this vision of patriotism and country too far over the line of fantasy to come true? I think not. Our country has survived more than 200 years in spite of the changes in government and society over time. We have demonstrated our resilience in the face of adversity more than once. Today we can do the same one more time.

Today we have much of the same opportunity to put our country on the right track that our Founding Fathers had 200 years ago. The election is just around the corner in time. We have an opportunity to demonstrate our patriotism as individuals by executing our right to vote and supporting candidates that adhere to the principles we consider most important. We have the chance to show further patriotism by seeing that others vote in accordance with their personal feelings whether or not those individuals happen to agree with our personal ideas. It is by acting as true patriots and by remaining loyal to the founding principles as defined in the Constitution that we have real hope for the future.

Peace.