June 28, 2005
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…the land of the free and the home of the brave
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, or only read “People” magazine, you’ve heard that today is the one year anniversary of the transfer of sovereignty in
That’s quite an indictment, and it begs the question; “what is patriotism?”
The work of the first federal congress from 1789 to 1791 has been referred to as the “birthing of our nation.” I think the analogy of our nation being our collective child is quite apropos. From an historical comparison to the lifespan of other nations, our “child” would be an adolescent; a big, hulking, behemoth of an adolescent, but a teenager none the less.
How do you show love to your teenager? Do you correct them when they are wrong, or do you ignore their behavior? Do you try to guide them toward being a productive and responsible adult or do you simply “rubber stamp” every decision they make and adopt the belief that your adolescent is incapable of making a mistake?
Somewhere along the way, the notion has been adopted that it is wrong to question the decisions our leaders make, that
I remember this sentiment being displayed during the Vietnam War with the “
A person who never tries to correct their child would be considered a negligent parent, perhaps even an abusive one. Yet anyone who points to national behavior that they believe is a mistake is “simply unpatriotic.” Has our nation ever made a mistake? Looking through the lens of history we can point to problems like slavery, civil rights, and prisoner internment during WWII…those are only a few. Is the war in
Am I unpatriotic? I asked my friend if he can name all the current cabinet members, if he has voted in every presidential election since he was old enough to vote, if he could even name our
I love my country, and I intend to continue to try and be the best parent I can be, and that means voicing my opinion when I think we are headed in the wrong direction. As far as I’m concerned, that makes me a patriot.
Comments (7)
Bravo!!!! Thank God Goober can’t be re-elected. My biggest fear now is that the Republicans will nominate Jeb in 2008.
Kudos to you…very well said. I can not answer yes to any of your questions (I am ashamed of this).
I really like the conceit of America as an adolescent. The Adolescent is a creation of America. Most Western and Eastern societies have a rite of passage ceremony and there is little room for this hulking ambiguity that takes up much of our young people’s lives…perhaps that’s one of the reasons why our international relations are so…awkward.
Our nation acts largely like an adolescent. Even the “all or nothing” phenomenon you describe is similar to adolescent thought…I have to think about this some more.
Regardless, tell your friend that patriotism as he describes it was once called by another name – Loyalism to the British Empire.
Our government, our very way of life requires dissent.
I’d probably slip a bit on the cabinet members, but I do well on the other questions. I also think for myself, so I would most decidedly be called unpatriotic. And I’m damned proud of that fact, in light of the current definition of patriotism. I’d say we start a movement to toss some tea into a harbor, but I’m also pro-environment.
Right on.
You have every right to be proud of that son of yours!!!
Here, here!!! I couldn’t agree more.