What is PATRIOTISM? Are you a PATRIOT? These two questions would seem simple to answer, but in reality, they are not. Why is that? We believe there is a huge disconnect in our Nation today between the knowledge of what these words mean, and the feelings many of our citizens have when confronted with these words. It is not the intent of this blog to answer all questions about these two words, as it would be impossible to do so. Many books, letters, and articles have focused on these two words, and still there are no best definitions that can apply adequately enough to cover every potential interpretation, or that would cover every citizen, each having their own beliefs about these words. What we will endeavor to do in this blog is to focus on the need for a basic understanding so that together, as ONE NATION, we can be more UNIFIED and less DIVIDED, and in the process, hopefully increase our PATRIOTISM.
If you had the choice to live anywhere in the world, where would that be? If you have picked a place, have you thought about the conditions you might live under, the language you would have to speak, what is the monetary, social, or political system like there? Have you even been there to experience life for several months, or even a year or two? It has been said, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” It is difficult to trace the origin of this comment, one being a U.S. newspaper The Kansas Farmer in 1917, but this proverb also existed in Japan. Its origins could even date back to Ovid (43 BC – 17 or 18 AD) in his poem, “Art of Love”, where he wrote, “The harvest is always richer in another man’s field.” It has often been our experience that when one crosses the fence into the other field, when looking back across the fence, where you came from doesn’t look so bad after all. Currently, we have a flood of people, from dozens of different nations, pouring through our southern border seeking a new life in our Nation. It is estimated the number crossing our border could be two million just this year alone. If it is so bad here, why are these people paying exorbitant amounts of money, and risking their very lives in the arduous trip just to get here? They must know things in other countries around the world that we don’t know, or that we don’t choose to be knowledgeable about. The “grass” over there may not be so “green” after all.
We believe that having an awareness of what the surrounding world looks like is vital in determining the level of one’s PATRIOTISM, at least in reference to our Nation. In relationship to current National events, do you think we have it bad now? Only fifty-seven of the 102 immigrants aboard the Mayflower survived the first winter of 1620-1621. An estimated 25,000 died in the Revolutionary War, two-thirds dying from disease. Were these two groups of people PATRIOTS? Although no one knows for certain, it is estimated around 360,000 white men died in the Union cause to free the blacks in the Civil War, along with about 40,000 blacks. Did they show PATRIOTISM? We have grown soft in the last couple of decades, not realizing the cost of FREEDOM we enjoy in our Nation today. We complain about our car not always working perfectly, or the neighbors on our street playing their music too loud, or we bemoan not being able to purchase that one item we really don’t need, but only want. We should all be ashamed! We believe that knowing where we came from (history), and recognizing where we are today, is vital in determining one’s PATRIOTISM. So what does it take to be a PATRIOT today, or to have PATRIOTISM?
It certainly takes an awareness of history, and the world around us, in order to appreciate what it means to be a PATRIOT. There are those within our Nation who feel we are a failed Nation. A serious look at our history, compared to the world around us, would quickly put this belief to rest. Some would say, why not the Egyptian nation of old, because they were rich and built pyramids. They also had an aristocracy and used slave labor. Well, what about the Roman Empire? Yes they built great roads and expanded their empire far and wide, but they also killed Christians in coliseums and on crosses or stakes. What about the several thousand years China has existed? They have certainly become more powerful. They also use Uighur Muslims in camps to provide cheap labor, and even harvest their organs for sale. Knowing that our Nation is continuing to refine under The Constitution, it has to be argued that “we shall be as a city upon a hill” (John Winthrop, 1630; Ronald Reagan, 1970’s). We believe there is much to be proud of about our Nation, to lead us to become better PATRIOTS. We believe PATRIOTISM is alive in our Nation, but for many it is not well.
So getting back to the question, what can motivate us to be more PATRIOTIC, we believe there are qualities within each of us that need to be planted, then tended, which will eventually produce a greater harvest of PATRIOTISM. Each one of us must do a deep dive into our own personal character, and there are virtues that need to be cultivated. There are at least, by one accounting, 73 different virtues. We will not list them all here, that is for each reader to pursue, but it is a place to start to better refine PATRIOTISM in our own lives. We would also argue that without morality, some are like a ship without a rudder, completely under the control of exterior forces where the currents, winds, and waves of other entities prevail. One of the 73 virtues referenced above is courage. “Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities . . .because it is the quality which guarantees all others.” (Winston Churchill). Many of those virtues, referred to above, require action, and elicit boldness. WE WANT ALL CITIZENS TO GROW IN PATRIOTISM, TO BECOME MORE PATRIOTIC. WE WANT ALL CITIZENS TO KNOW THAT OUR CONSTITUTION IS WORTH FIGHTING FOR, BECAUSE IT IS THE SOURCE OF OUR FREEDOMS. IT IS TIME TO HAVE COURAGE AND RECLAIM OUR FREEDOMS BY ALL GOING MASK FREE IF POSSIBLE, AND FOR ALL BUSINESSES AND INSTITUTIONS TO FULLY OPEN UP BEGINING JULY 4, 2021.