What is Patriotism?

This past weekend marked the 232nd anniversary of the United States declaring its independence from England. We celebrated in the usual manner with fireworks and songs full of patriotic fervor; but in this election year, I felt that there was something a bit more..... well.... more. For a lot of our troops serving in Afghanistan and Iraq (as well as other parts of the world) they too were celebrating the Fourth of July but with a slightly different perspective. Most of us in civilian garb will always profess the love for our country and how that those who are serving in the military represent the best and brightest of our nation and who are fighting to uphold our nation's honor. That may be true but I wondered as we got closer to the Fourth of July, what is patriotism?

Lately it's a question that has been coming up more and more as people for or against the war seem to bandy the term about more than the tennis balls at Wimbledon. We, the American public, seem to have differing views on what represents patriotism and how it should be expressed. First and foremost of course is an undying devotion and support for our troops serving overseas. And in principle I agree with that statement. The very freedoms we enjoy are defended by the individuals who answer the call and serve their nation in uniform and no matter where they are in the world, I would support them in whatever way, shape or form that I can. Of course if you make any statement questioning why so many troops are continuing to serve in combat zones long after their tours have ended then of course you are considered un-patriotic. I personally feel that people need to separate the two and realize that support for the troops and support for this or any war are two very different things.

Now I'm not interested in a prolonged discussion on the merits of continued war in other parts of the world, but I would like people to take a little time and think about what they are supporting and what they are calling patriotism. Take for example our politicians. If you want to see another form of combat over the best way to represent leadership and patriotism, look no farther than our current crop of Presidential candidates. Apparently the benchmark of whether a candidate is or isn't a 'true' supporter of his nation doesn't come down to whether he (or she) has served their country in the military or in Congress or any other way. It has nothing to do with the policies they support or fight against. It has nothing to do with their plans and proclaimations for the future of our nation. In point of fact, it has nothing to do at all with anything other than a ten cent piece of metal (made in China in most cases) that resembles the American flag and is pinned on your jacket lapel.

I couldn't believe it when I started seeing debates, not discussions but debates, over whether a candidate 'truly loved his nation' or whether it was all a conspiracy to land an Anti-American in the White House thus leading our nation to ruin. Is the fate of our nation truly supposed to be decided over whether someone wears a piece of tin on their lapel or not? Apparently the public at large doesn't care about the economy, doesn't worry about the downturn in the job market, and is ambivalent about the continued course of our nation on the international scene. Only the lapel pin matters. Is this what patriotism is? Is it more about what you wear than what you believe? Supposing it comes to light that one candidate wears Italian made suits instead of American made suits, does that mean that that candidate is secretly working for Italy's best interests? I don't think so but until we the people move out of that mindset, we're never going to make any progress towards solving the real issues.