What is an AMERICAN Patriot?

I would have to say that in general I agree...but it is a slow evolution and one soul at a time...the key is to pass on what we have become and learned to our children. I wore black too but I could not help but notice that every house on my block flew an American flag except mine...I flew a deep blue earth flag and Tibetan pray flags with prayers for peace written on them.

You made me think, Grover, that American culture thinks more of children as small consumers, rather than the seeds for a future. Do we pass down this knowledge of other-centeredness, or do we commit them to a life of self-centeredness. Whan adults bully other adults or children at childrens' sports games, when a society sings praises in church then ignores or speaks ill of those in need around them, when we do not offer guidance to our young, we are sealing our fate to not advance.

regrettably I do believe that we think less of children as our future and more as little consumers...what passes for children's entertainment when it isn't stupid and violent, it si basically one long commercial. I just spent 3 years at a community college and I ran into some of the most self-absorbed people that I was left speechless. This does not bode well for our society or for the world as a whole. When people cease to be able to step outside of themselves and see where they fit in as part of the whole....seeds of the whirlwind are sown. Societies composed of such people cannot last long.

Will you people think that our founder fathers were truly patriots?

Remember that they in order to be the patriots of our nation they were first the traitors of their own birth nation.

Is that one of the meaning of patriotism?

Good question, Marg. Since the root of the word patriot seems to come from the Greek word for "father", I think that the colonists began to think of their new home as their "fatherland". They had an emotional and intellectual feeling that England was no longer concerned with their welfare, that it was time to break away, become independent. This emotional and intellectual drive led to the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War, and the forming of a new government, a newer improved version. So, to break away, they indeed had to become "traitors". Interesting.

A true American Patriot is always a doer, not a sayer.

Pudits and opinionists are not patriots. Neither are reactionaries or rabble-rousers.

A true patriot gets up out of his chair, quietly and in a determined fashion, and does something that makes a difference.........

Wish I had another WATS....

Action people, it is all about the action!!!!!

Talk is sooo cheap.

"If you talk the talk, then walk the walk."

John F. Kennedy
Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.
Calvin Coolidge
Don't expect to build up the weak by pulling down the strong.
Theodore Roosevelt
Get action. Seize the moment. Man was never intended to become an oyster.

Semper

Great question marg.

To me - America stands for freedom, justice and democracy. So being an American patriot means fighting and maybe dying for freedom, justice and democracy.

What's the point of living chained, and milked dry?

To me a patriot is someone who's willing to fight and/or die
to defend our freedoms.

Someone who is willing to fight for the oppressed.

Someone who fights for what's right, who fights against those
who would try and take away freedom.

Rabblerousing is action, note the word "rousing". .

An American patriot is really no different from a Russian patriot, or a Egyptian patriot, or any other nations patriot. They have a love of their nation and will do anything, up to and including dying for it. That particular person, transported through time and space would have been a Roman centurion marching off to fight Hannibal at Zama, or an Arab horseman riding to meet the hordes of Ghenghis Khan at the gates of Baghdad.

A true American patriot loves his/her country unconditionally, but is neither blind to its faults, nor unwilling to foment change as neccessary. All for love...

Patriots: ... The term was coined for those who (violently) 'defended' their beliefs and land.

A patriot by definition from www.dictionary.com

1. a person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion.
2. a person who regards himself or herself as a defender, esp. of individual rights, against presumed interference by the federal government.

The thing to think about here is when was it first used and what did it FIRST stand-for.

IMO, I would say that a patriot by nature is a violent person, even if their goal is peace. Peace cannot be forced and Peace is not a personal affair either.

compromises must be made for peace. What that means is peoples personal peace must be compromised for over-all peace. Which in my opinion is a difficult thing for people to do, I don't think the term patriot is really understood, it is a british word is it not?
I don't think any for actual peace has ever been called a patriot.

People for peace between the planet and humans are called Tree Huggers
People for peace between all humans are called Hippies
People who force their way, and pave their way with bodies are called Patriots
People who force their way, and pave their way with words are called Saints
There is a difference.

Originally posted by dnero6911

People for peace between the planet and humans are called Tree Huggers
People for peace between all humans are called Hippies
People who force their way, and pave their way with bodies are called Patriots
People who force their way, and pave their way with words are called Saints

You're entitled to your opinion, but these definitions seem kind of arbitrary, for lack of a better word. Patriotism is more than going to war, although the willingness to die for one's country is the ultimate test of patriotism. Patriotism would more accurately be the dedication of one's life to the protection and betterment of one's country and one's way of life, which could encompass all the definitions you provided.

While we can pretty much come to the same conclusion about what an American Patriot may be.

Sometimes I feel that our culture and society has help define the term of Patriotism in our nation.

Will somebody doing something to change what they seem in their own views a bad government or a bad regime an act of treason or just been a patriot.

That is questions that I ask my self when trying to understand people's definition of been a patriot.

When an act of treason can become patriotism, and that is why I pointed to our founding founders and what they did in order to become the patriots of today for our nation.

[edit on 18-9-2006 by marg6043]

Originally posted by marg6043
When an act of treason can become patriotism, and that is why I pointed to our founding founders and what they did in other to become the patriots of today for our nation.

I believe that it is more accurate to say that our founders exhausted their legal options before embarking upon revolution. The fruit of their labors was the US Constitution that created a "government of the people, by the people, and for the people." The system is such that change can be made by working within the framework of the law. To do otherwise, is hardly patriotism.

[edit on 2006/9/18 by GradyPhilpott]

(note: rather than necro a dead thread that got like 3 views, I'm just gonna paste my thoughts in here, since it fits the subject matter and is a topic on which I have some interest. This is a journal entry I wrote on 9/11 that deals with Patriotism.)


This is all I know: I am, first and foremost, a Texan.

I don't wear it, I don't decorate my house with it. I don't have anything of a particularly Texan look in or on my entire house, in fact. I've even lost most of my Texan accent due to speech therapy sessions when I was younger.

But Texas is the land that gave birth to me, my wife, and most of our family. It is the land where we bought our first property, and the land in which I hope our children will be raised. It is the land that I call home. It is a land that is a member of the United States of America, but it is, first and foremost, my land. I don't know if other people from other places feel the same way about their home, but my patriotism has nothing to do with politics, economics, or even pieces of paper. It's about the amount of blood shared between us and the land.

That said, I'd still die for the USA, and, all told, if I knew it was the only way to save the U.S., I'd put my whole family's life on the line to save America. I honestly do believe in the Constitution, the judicial system, and even the system of checks and balances, which is why, for over 200 years, we have been steadily growing to become the strongest nation on Earth while simultaneously convincing everyone that everything is going to hell every single minute of every single day. Every time someone gets just a little too powerful, everyone else gangs up on them and pulls them back down, like crabs in a bucket.

It is a fantastic system. It works like nothing anyone could have possibly imagined, and became something that no one could ever fully control again. It allows our country to act like an infinite schizophrenic, being saints one minute and satans the next. It is a tug of war between one dolly and an entire class of poorly disciplined toddlers, all screaming for what they want. And there are no parents present; even if there were, we'd rebel against them en masse, until they were but one more child grabbing for the doll.

We are but an adolescent, and our voice as a nation has begun to crack. We have attained the power of an adult, but the awkward feet and uncertain speech of the child. Half the time we don't know what we're doing, the other half of the time we don't want to admit it.

I have blamed Bush for nearly every shortcoming of the country and the inability to string together a coherent sentence. But I must recognize that we, as civilians will not be privvy to half of what happened in 9/11, or what is going on in the War on Terror, for decades to come, if ever. I consider how unpopular the more "Legendary" Presidents were during their terms in office, and wonder if, one day, it is possible that it will all make sense. And even if it doesn't, it's not like anything would be different in the end. We will always be ruled by the schizophrenia of a nation.

[edit on 9/18/2006 by thelibra]

Originally posted by thelibra
more "Legendary" Presidents were during their terms in office, and wonder if, one day, it is possible that it will all make sense. And even if it doesn't, it's not like anything would be different in the end. We will always be ruled by the schizophrenia of a nation.

[edit on 9/18/2006 by thelibra]

I will agree with you, because schizophrenia is a social issue after all.

Perhaps one of the problems we see when we try to indentify ourself with been a patriot and the definition we fit better with is actually more manipulated by public opinion and inlfuenced by public reaction, than personal feelings.

Originally posted by marg6043
Perhaps one of the problems we see when we try to indentify ourself with been a patriot and the definition we fit better with is actually more manipulated by public opinion and inlfuenced by public reaction, than personal feelings.

See, I never really gave any thought to public opinion on my patriotism, either of Texas or America. One is either patriotic or isn't. I was raised to be a patriot, in the sense that I respect the land, and try and make it a better place. That would be the case whether we were ruled by Democrats, Republicans, or even Kinky Friedman...

Originally posted by thelibra
See, I never really gave any thought to public opinion on my patriotism, either of Texas or America.

I didn't either I feel that patriotism is something that comes deep from our harts and is a feeling of love for ones nation and what we may do for our nation.

I wasn't refering to you but more to people that just follow what others tell them on how and should a patriot is or behave like it.

In this thread so far most of the comments comes from the hart, and that is what I was looking for.

I thank everybody for showing their feelings.

Originally posted by marg6043
I wasn't refering to you but more to people that just follow what others tell them on how and should a patriot is or behave like it.

Ahhh, I think I know what you're talking about. Nationalism. Yep. Now I am definitely not a Nationalist, but a Patriot I'll prolly be till death. Nationalism, however, is a very very dangerous and contagious mentality.

To me American patriotism resides in the ability of a citizen or official to make the right decision in the face of corruption or abuse of power. Even when it could mean losing their job. To me American patriotism embodies the essence of good, and rejects the temptation of evil. To me American patriotism is adherence to the Constitution, and not the subversion thereof.

One thing that really bothers me is the reports of NYC firefighters and police who were told by their superiors not to talk about the explosions they witnessed at Ground Zero. In a private corporate environment, situations will arise where confidentiality is needed, and that is understandable. But when officials are being told not to talk about what really happened in a crime of this magnitude, and choose to go along with it lest their careers be ended, that's where I draw the line. Those that choose coverup and career over righteousness and truth have lost the priviledge of being called true American patriots in my book. Real American patriots will always fight for truth, knowing that perpetuating the truth is ultimately more important than any self-serving interest.

TrueAmerican

Nice to see you here again, I agree with you one hundred percent.

Is not patriotism on hiding the truth or changing the news or to keep everything secret from the people of our nation.

That is not patriotism that is cover-up for hidden agendas.

A government that is clean to his people has nothing to hide from the people.