What Is Patriotism?

The Republicans always seem to believe that THEY have a lock on patriotism. They seem to equate the concept with sending their children off to war, or in volunteering for other types of service to the nation. But they are NOT the only ones whose loved ones step to volunteer for the military or other volunteer endeavors. The sons and daughters of thousands of Democrats go to war, too.

But it must be understood that patriotism extends beyond military or other voluntary service. Patriotism is a love, pride and dedication to one’s country. It has many manifestations. JFK said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, rather ask what you can do for your country.” We show our patriotism in many different ways, based on what we are able to do, what we are able to give.

Does it make any sense that we are willing to send our young people off to war, to fight and possibly die for our country, but we are totally unwilling to give a few more dollars taxes? Patriots do what they can. Some volunteer to fight. Some go into politics. Those of us who can, however, should also be willing to reach down and accept that one of the ways that we can show our love of country is to accept higher taxes, PARTICULARLY IN TIMES OF TROUBLE. We are in crisis, fighting two wars and running up a deficit which we will pass on to our children. Is that patriotism, running up the tab for them to pay later? That is selfish and irresponsible. It is beneath us, and it is anything but patriotic.

Shortly after 9/11, President Bush suggested that we could all do our part by keeping the economy strong and going shopping. Surely we have a higher calling; surely we can do more. Stepping up to pay for the war is something concrete to do and something to be proud of.

One last thing…nothing lasts forever or proceeds in one direction indefinitely. Just as an era of over-regulation gave way to the need for regulatory relief, now the time has come to acknowlege that the pendulum has swung, and regulation of our financial system, imported food, medicine and consumer products is urgently needed. So too, there are times when taxes need to be cut, but there are times when that is no longer possible. This may well be one of those times.

We paid higher taxes during the Clinton years; the Republicans cut taxes so that they are lower today. Personally, I felt better about myself, my country and its future when I paid a little more! Frankly, I enjoyed more prosperity paying higher taxes, too.

A Word from the Author

In a way, I really admire Republicans. It NEVER ceases to amaze me how they manage year after year to get SO MANY Americans to vote against their own self-interests again and again. They are brilliant, though cynical. I am afraid they are on the verge of doing irreparable harm. In the name of patriotism, they want to dismantle our government. They have taken Ronald Reagan's words as gospel, believing that government is the casue of all of our problems and that can remedy none of them. They have politicized nearly every aspect of government, orchestrated assaults on the separation of church and state, science, attorneys, the courts, higher education and even the Constitution itself. We have allowed ourselves to fall victim to the propaganda that led to war in Iraq without a critical analysis of arguments in support of the decision. Global warming appears real and is worsening while we fail to act. Our economy is in shambles. The housing crisis deepens. Our currency has lost substantially in value, and our manufacturing base is a remnant of what is was only a decade ago, with our jobs leaving for foreign lands, while big business sits on billions of dollars and giant corporations in banking, oil and energy remain largely under-regulated. We seem to have surrendered our future to a political discourse that descends to the lowest common denominator, usually influenced by fear, personal attack and destruction, rather than dispassionate consideration of the merits. If we are going to thrive once again, something has got to change. Here is my small contribution to that end. I will try to respond to what I read in the news, but I am NOT a scholar. I leave it to others to fact check, follow up and support my points, but I refuse to continue to sit quietly while our demacracy is subverted and turned to the support of wealthy, powerful and cynical interests.