Patriotism
“Patriotism
is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it
deserves it.” Mark Twain
This
weekend, we're observing Memorial Day—the time of the year when
we honor all those who have given their lives in war. The number of Americans killed in wars now stands at 1,321,612. Another 1,531,036 have been wounded.
Just looking at those numbers makes me sad. Every day we hear the
horrifying statistics of the death toll in Syria's civil war, 80,000
and counting. Yet in our own Civil War, more than 600,000
were killed. In Afghanistan just this month, twenty-four coalition troops have died. And who knows how many Afghans. Wars kill people.
Supporting
war does not make us patriotic. Patriotism is love of country,
homeland, culture, flag. I don't know anyone who is not a patriot. We
love this country even with all its flaws. George Washington is
quoted as saying, “Guard against the impostures of pretended
patriotism.” We have people today, and probably always have, who
wrap themselves in the flag in order to garner position, or curry
favor. That dishonors the ones who have died in our wars.
But, we American's love America even when we don't support our
government. We love her even though we may want our troops to come
home NOW instead of a year from now. We love America even though we'd
like to remove from office every single sitting legislator who is
neglecting the needs of this country while supporting their own
reelection campaigns. Our bridges are falling down while they argue
among themselves. We love this country even when we can't stand our
government's self-serving, posturing stupidity. We are a patriotic
people.
Being
able to criticize one's government is one of the freedoms we hold
dear. We love this country all the time, and will support its
government when it deserves our support.
In
the spirit,
Jane
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