A Real Patriot

Political and religious zealots who wrap themselves in the flag and the bible and refuse to open their minds to the real world do themselves and their country no good service. They are neither patriots nor good citizens; they serve only themselves and not their fellows.

Those who refuse to inform themselves politically are directly responsible for the current crisis in our leadership. Actively participate in a democracy or lose it because democracies are the most fragile forms of government because they rely on an informed, participating citizenry. To not vote because you are uninformed is to guarantee the doom of your democracy. When you close your mind to any facet of your world, you diminish not only your life but the lives of others. To not be open-minded to the realities of your democracy is to guarantee its failure. Democracies are under attack everywhere in the world and those who close mindedly refuse to inform themselves and do not participate are the vanguard of that attack.

Wrapping oneself in the flag, using the bible as the only source of truth, and knowing nothing about politics are recipes for the end of democracy. Big Brother, the Thought Police, and the laws of the Orwellian world cannot be far behind. The Orwellian laws are War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, and Ignorance is Strength. Do these statements sound familiar? The Iraq War makes the world safe, we must give up our freedoms (Patriot Act), because we are at war, and our ignorance is strength because our leaders know what is best for us. Orwell’s world is so close to being our world that informed actions is paramount.

So a patriot must be an active, informed citizen who knows what his government is doing and helps shape his own destiny. He does not wrap himself in the flag, because the wrap blinds his vision of reality. A patriot supports the flag with his mind, his heart and his actions and uses the flag only as a symbol of his country.

A patriot is an egalitarian who always works for the greatest good for the greatest number. He is a humanitarian that looks at the welfare of all humanity and realizes that we are all brothers trying to do the best we can under the circumstances. He believes he can influence and shape those circumstances.

A patriot must be a realist looking at the world straight on. His personal religion and philosophy must remain personal, for his own use and not be foisted on his fellows. Mark Twain in Reflections on Religion wrote that “all the ships of the entire world could be sailed on the blood shed in the name of Christianity.” And christainity is just one of the world’s religions. Our current wars are wars of religion … Ireland, the Middle East, Old Yugoslavia, India and Pakistan. Dubya said God told him to invade Iraq. Religious proselytizing is the great enemy of the common good so a patriot must keep his religion personal.

A patriot must be authentic. Samuel Johnson said that Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel so it can be used to hide ulterior motives. A patriot is not a Democrat or a Republican; he is a democrat who is an activist concerned with the greatest good for the greatest number. He knows that he is never more secure and happy than is the meekest and mildest citizen of his republic. While looking out for himself and his family, he also looks out for his fellows. A patriot is much more than a person who closes his mind while wrapping himself in his flag. A patriot is much more than a person who loses himself in the bible. A patriot is an active, informed citizen of his nation and of the world always looking out for the greatest good for the greatest number.

What is life without striving for the ideal?