You know, I was browsing the net, looking for a subject to write about, and I came across a link (thanks, Steelcowboy) to a website of quotations. Now, me, being a career soldier, and with July 4th on the way, I went looking at the “Patriotism†quotes, and, lo and behold, most of them were negative. Quotes like:
“It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind.†– Voltaire.
“Patriotism is a kind of religion; it is the egg from which wars are hatched.†– Guy de Maupassant.
“Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism – how passionately I hate them!†– Albert Einstein.
“Nationalism is a silly cock crowing on his own dunghill.†– Richard Aldington.
When did patriotism become a crime? When did being a patriot equal wanting a war? I don’t understand what the problem that people have with patriotism is.
I think that James A. Baldwin got it right when he said, “I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.â€
A patriot is not a warmonger, one that hates all other countries, a destroyer. A patriot is simply a person that believes that their country, whatever country that is, is better than any other, and loves their country just like they love their family, flaws and all. The problem is that there are (here it comes, the dreaded “R†word) RESPONSIBILITIES that go with being a citizen; the need to be educated, aware and active in the day to day operations of the United States. Unfortunately, too many so-called citizens don’t even bother to vote, never mind voice their disagreement, or agreement, with the government.
I am a patriot. I am proud to be a patriot. I love our country and our way of life. I vote, I pay taxes, and, as James A. Baldwin says, “…I insist on the right to criticize her [America] perpetually.†This does not mean that I do not question our leaders. This does not mean that I follow blindly. It simply means that I believe, with my whole heart, that the principles upon which this nation was founded will lead the world into the future with open eyes, open minds and open hearts.
I will leave you with one last quote, and, please, read it carefully. I have repeated it four times, and I believe in it.
“I, state your full name, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the Officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me Godâ€
Nowhere does it say that military members must follow blindly. Nowhere does it say that the President is always right. What it does say is that the people in the military must be able to see what is going on and make decisions based on the Constitution, not just orders. Oh, by the way, Congress wrote the Uniform Code of Military Justice, so it can’t just be changed on a whim.
I am a patriot, I love the US, but, I have a responsibility to be educated and make decisions that will support and defend the principles, not the leaders, which we stand for.
