Patriotism in America, Part One

Many of us grew up in the era when The Pledge of Allegiance was still recited in school. By the time our children were in school, it was not a daily occurrence.

I just did a really quick research on the The Pledge of Allegiance, when it was written and who wrote it, and the additions over the years. This post isn’t about that, so I won’t go into details. You may do the same research if you are interested.

This post is about patriotism:

The quality of being patriotic; vigorous support for one’s country.

History changes over the years. It is rather like the old telephone game that we all played. Whisper in the first person’s ear. By the time the message has traveled around the room, it has changed. Sometimes so much that it is unrecognizable to the person that first spoke the words. None of us were alive, 200, 500, 1,000 years ago. We rely on events passed down through the generations, ancient recordings and more recently, pictures. If someone relates something inaccurately, or puts their own spin and emotions into it, the facts are no longer there. And over time, the facts get buried.

In America, we are a young country compared to many. But even so, most people from the WWI, (Jul 28, 1914 – Nov 11, 1918) era are no longer with us, much less the Civil War, ( Apr 12, 1861 – May 9, 1865), or the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), also known as the American War of Independence. We rely on records and writings from these events to form our opinions about what occurred.

I think it is pretty safe to say, that most of the men that fought in these wars were patriotic. They had and showed, vigorous support for their country, The United States of America. It saddens me greatly, to see the people of this nation, not all, but some, forgetting their patriotism. The wonderful thing about America is that you don’t have to be here.  But if you are, you should support your country.

It’s not about the president, or your rights. All of us have disagreed with our leaders, all of us have been less than pleased with decisions made for our country at some point. Your actions are what matter, and when our actions trod on our patriotism, they are wrong. And that is what will divide us as a nation.

Men have fought long, gruesome years for our freedoms that we have today. Families have been destroyed. Because of their honor and integrity, their patriotism, we still have The United States of America. Independence Day in America, the 4th of July, is the day set aside to remember and celebrate our independence. And it should be a day of patriotism for those living in this country.

Tomorrow, I will conclude this post. So be sure to check back.