Patriotism

The most common use of the word 'patriotism' in the United States political arena in recent years has been in the context of supporting our military service men and women. Supporting them and showing appreciation for their service is a very important thing to do for many reasons. A personal story describes one reason. I thanked an elderly relative that I met for the first time at a family reunion some 15 years ago. In meeting him I discovered that he had served America in WW II. His response to my expression of thanks made it very clear to me that I needed to make a point of thanking veterans and those currently serving whenever I discovered their service status. The most common display of patriotism tends to be wearing a United States flag pin. Some, like my wife and I, fly the flag in our yard.

It's very appropriate, important, to be patriotic in these ways but we also need to broaden our actions to show patriotic support of the United States. Samples below are some, their variety suggests many more.

•It's patriotic to do the things that improve our personal health. It's good for us and is good for our nation by not adding unnecessary health care expense to government.

•It's patriotic to 'put in an honest days work'---at whatever level of a business or non-profit or governmental place that gives us a pay check. We better compete internationally.

•It's patriotic to pay fair taxes and it's patriotic to expect that governmental revenues are spent wisely and conservatively.

•It's patriotic to think and act with a realization that sometimes individuals within our communities---from family unit size (e.g., extended illness or severe accident injuries) to the nation (e.g. a Katrina event)---'need a helping hand'.

•It's patriotic for people to provide for their basic needs just as much as they are able so we don't add unnecessary burden on community and nation.

•It's patriotic to dialog with an open mind even when we don't agree with someone else's position.

• It's patriotic for successful businesses to charge customers (including the government) reasonable rates above real costs.

•It's patriotic to work toward consensus, realizing that nations can be destroyed from within when partisan divisiveness replaces consensus building as the norm.