Many if not most are proud to be an American. They tell you this, if you ask, and will usually elaborate saying there’s no place they’d rather be. A few might complain how health care, tax rates or eldercare are better in this place or that, but generally the facts on these are sketchy and not nearly enough to make them move.
When we say we’re proud to be American, is this being patriotic? I think it is to some degree, but there’s much more to patriotism than just lip service. I think to be truly patriotic one must honor our founding, the founders themselves and the founding documents, including the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration, etc. If we’re taught these in K-12 we get how revolutionary and innovative they were at the time, how unique compared with other countries. We learn the special distinction between being a subject and a citizen. We learn how there are natural or God given rights and lesser man-given rights, along with privileges and benefits. The founders wanted to preserve our natural rights, no matter what!
If we’re taught these things, we learn how America is a very special place, not your run-of-the-mill democracy, republic or parliament. It is in fact a constitutional republic with its emphasis on liberty – not equality. That sounds harsh but the key to achieving equality lies with liberty: the relative ease and individual freedom we each enjoy as we pursue our happiness. Remember the Declaration – life and liberty – not equality.
If these concepts and ideals were properly taught in schools during our formative years we’d carry them with us as we go through life, never doubting their accuracy or effectiveness, always aware how various other nations around the world boast of their freedoms/opportunities but over time prove their susceptibility to ever tightening controls, loss of individual rights, diminishing fairness, stratified society, growing oligarchical/dictatorial authority and ultimately a quietly encroaching tyranny.
The more we see these things the more we realize how lucky we are to be in America, where the original founding principles still hold sway over the current sociopolitical trends of activists/ideologues who think they can do better. Their only problem, they can’t effect major change without discarding portions of the constitution and /so far/ they’ve been unable to do that!
The constitution however old or archaic still embodies our basic human rights, which are the same today as they were 250yrs ago. It’s the anchor of our governmental raft, protecting and insuring we don’t drift too far away from our founding principles. A patriot understands this and to some extent can explain it to others, depending on education/interest. At minimum, a patriot will stand and defend these principles at risk of criticism, chastisement or ostracism. These could next develop into rejection or repudiation. Even humiliation could result at an inability to properly articulate feelings/beliefs, knowing in his/her heart they’re right but finding it difficult to express/prove. These are fruits/foibles of a strongly proclaimed patriotism – which we need more than ever!
We’ve suggested a patriot isn’t bashful about loving their country and defending it as best they can against all other places and systems, foreign or domestic. We state they should’ve become educated to some degree about our country’s founding and the details surrounding it, gaining a basic understanding how we started, what we believed and what we were willing to do to defend it against all others – again, foreign or domestic.
A patriot knows his country isn’t perfect. In fact, it has many flaws requiring redress/solution but as bad as many think it is, it’s still the best! Those rushing to alter/correct our founding documents don’t comprehend the risk they take in doing so. The wisdom and experience of the ages are compiled and distilled into these documents and they’ve stood the test of time to good measure, evidenced by the current state of our country compared with others of equal size and complexity. Still, we need patriots now more than ever!
We are a place of reason and justice in a chaotic world. We offer more fairness, help and opportunity than others are wont, likely or able to do. We do this because of who we are and what we believe. Things may not work as our principles dictate but we know this and strive to do better. Racial prejudice, limited elitism, economic disparity, educational misfeasance and judicial/governmental decay are all derived from ideological splits away from our guiding documents, as well as from the frailties/weaknesses of our human condition. A patriot knows we’re constantly strive to repair these but no matter how much we improve we can never achieve the perfect utopian society. Patriots believe we’re a work in progress struggling towards this end.
Equality in thought and spirit is one thing, but in reality entirely different. People vary in their abilities, goals and aspirations which are the guiding hands leading to prosperity. These cannot be arbitrarily manipulated or forced. Society can clear a path and offer guidance but, bottom line, it’s up to each individual to achieve their goal, satisfy their ambition. The sad truth? In most cases this requires work, dedication and sacrifice which many if not most individuals are unwilling to do. The work ethic is another value being misfeased in our schools by ideological teachers. One quickly sees if youth are not taught our real history, if they’re not taught the real meanings, morals and ethics of our founding documents and advantage of learning a skill, trade or profession over the path to governmental help and welfare /the core beliefs of socialism/ it becomes difficult to be a patriot! One literally doesn’t know what to think since they’ve been indoctrinated/immersed in a non-republican ideology! How can you praise and love your country if you really don’t know what it stands for? Real patriots, apply here!
The result is fewer and fewer younger patriots and more and more older ones. Those over 60 were schooled in a different era during the 1950’s-60’s. Classrooms were wholesome and dedicated to the credo of American superiority. We re- cited poems, sang songs, read books and watched movies extolling the brilliance of our founding and our way of life. This was reinforced by parents, teachers, clergy and friends. We drank in the idealism like it was a tonic or sweet nectar, never doubting we were the best!
Today upper middle-aged, senior statesmen/executives, retirees with a paltry group of young adults lucky or strong willed enough to avoid being brainwashed believe/exhibit the most patriotism. The younger demographics are a mixed bag with some sloughing off the attempted indoctrination and some taking it to heart, resulting in the gradual lessening of constitutional restraints as these masses infuse and populate the ranks and polity of our governing class and taint the voting electorate.
Making matters worse, we’ve had unbridled illegal immigration in the tens of millions over the past ten years and these also infuse/dilute our polity. It’s been shown we even give some a vote which they use to elect their patrons and benefactors who in most cases are as unpatriotic as it gets. Their agenda is not to preserve our constitutional republic, but to promote and benefit themselves! This goes beyond ideology into deep graft, corruption, even treason!
How can an illegal who doesn’t speak English and was paid to come here, who takes menial jobs and follows the instructions of his handlers and probably only cares about his loved ones back home and when he’ll get to see them again, how can this person give a whit about America, let alone defend and be willing to fight and die for her? Attention: any patriots out there?
An immigrant escaping from brutality and tyranny who man- ages to get here knows how lucky they are and does anything necessary, gladly and willingly, to prove their intentions and gratitude. They even volunteer for our military and will in fact fight and die if necessary to prove their loyalty! They act out of love and appreciation for this country, but we really can’t call them patriots.
This means most patriots are either over 50, or between 18-49 and managed to avoid/escape indoctrination, or are new arrivals who understand and appreciate how lucky they are. Of course, some are well schooled about America and some are not. Sprinkled amongst these are some other elements who, for whatever reason, are not really patriotic owing to their self-interest regarding their job, business, gender, race, ethnicity and so on. They have it in their heads they can pursue their top priority, whether independence, equality, equity justice or non-conformity and still be considered good citizens. Their rationale seems to be – if they aren’t hurting any- body and not breaking the law they should be left alone to do their thing. This makes them passive citizens at best. Some confess they don’t even vote, could care less about who’s president and try hard to avoid taxes, still expecting the goods and services they’ve come to enjoy! Are any patriots in the house?
I hope we agree these people are not enhancing/promoting America but simply draining it of its hospitality/resources. They are citizens by statute only, but not even patriots. In many cases their pursued self-interest is a genuine effort to de-assimilate/factionalize America, breaking it down into ethnic or activist sub-groups to achieve more power. This entails/leads to the eventual deconstruction of our society and its constitutional republic.
A patriot is one who loves their country, honors its history and traditions, understands how superior it is to most if not all other countries, realizes the dangers of experimenting with alternative forms of government and is willing to step up and participate in citizenly duties such as gainful employment, obeying the law, voting, giving/charitable and, when called, volunteering for military or humanitarian service.
This is a brief sketch of what it means to be an American and what it takes to call oneself a patriot. Meanwhile, we’re evolving into an admixture of competing factions who only see their interest and nothing of the big picture. This will ultimately end in disaster! We need every citizen to act and feel like a patriot; to fear the prospect of America’s decline; to heart-en/embolden themselves against any such possibility and to do everything they can to preserve, protect and defend these United States of America!
Calling All Patriots! Report!
You’ve Been Reading Shaneview
I’m Al Shane
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