You and I probably don’t see eye to eye on many issues. That’s okay. I’m not going to try to persuade you to believe what I believe in this post, or attack you or your beliefs. Each person is entitled to their own beliefs and perspectives. What I am intending to do with this post is to work through my own feelings about patriotism and to share them with someone; maybe it’s a perspective you’ve never considered before.

Or maybe it can help you work through your own. My interest in discovering my beliefs about being a patriot and  is something I just recently discovered myself. This is a subject I continually feel compelled to explore, and something that ignites my curiosity and passion; which I’ve learned should not be ignored.

Patriotism is defined as “devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country.” Patriotism to me, does not mean following a leader blindly, nor a particular political party. Even when you voted a person into office. In a democracy, your job is to vocalize your opinion and keep them in check to ensure they’re working for you. After all this is a government for the people, by the people.

To me this means staying informed on current events, bills, legislature, and keeping an eye on what the government is doing, and speaking out when I see something that I feel is not in the best interest of the country or jeopardizes its principles and people. In this regard, blindly following parties and leaders simply because they are in a position of power, is the opposite of patriotism.

Ultimately, it’s not up to me or anyone to tell you what to believe about what a patriot truly is. The only person who can do that is you, and that takes real critical thinking, self discovery, constant questioning, probing and exposure to different perspectives. Mine is just one such perspective to consider.

To define what patriotism means for you,  here are some questions to consider:

• What obligations do you feel you have to your country?
• What do you love about this country? Why?
• What are you willing to defend?
• How are you willing to defend it?

Quotes about patriotism

Here’s some of my favorite patriot quotes that help to convey what it means to me: