To Be Patriotic

1229 Words5 Pages
Steven Walker Ms. Neaves English 111 24 July 2012 What Does it mean to Be Patriotic What does it mean to be Patriotic? Many people have many definitions as to what it truly means to be a patriot. Is being Patriot about loving one’s country unconditionally? Many people feel this is true, but loving something unconditionally leads people into turning a blind eye to wrongs that occur. This is not a good love when dealing with patriotism. How does turning a blind eye to wrongs or bad decisions the country has made benefit the people of the country now and also in the future? In a democracy such as the one in place in the United States of America, the citizens need to be able to see these flaws and speak their voice so changes can be made. In many cases the opposite also holds true. People feel they are being patriots by protesting everything the government does and find flaws with everything in this country. This also does not serve the country in a positive way. Always pointing out flaws and never helping to find a solution does not better the country in any way. To be patriotic is to love and respect fellow citizens, to take care of the land and the natural environment, to be active in elections, and to be able to see its flaws and weaknesses and to help turn them into strengths. Love and respect of fellow citizens is crucial to being patriotic. How could one be considered a patriot if they do not love or at least respect there fellow citizens? These are the people one shares one’s homeland with. While it is impossible to know everyone or agree with everyone’s opinions the ability to respect their opinions and care about them as individuals is very important to being patriotic. Michael Parenti writes in his essay, “Perhaps love of country means loving the American ‘people.’ But the people of this nation are a vast aggregate of widely diverse ethnic,
Open Document