Theodore Roosevelt once said, "Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official." Yet, when you live in a time when people are so consumed with political strife, does the true patriot manage to see beyond it and still exist?
Every day, our news and social media is flooded with negative reports and remarks about our current government. Our freedom of speech is used to condone the slew of insults being thrown at our president and each other. Then, it turns to everything else. Racism, illegal immigration, breaches of security, environmental concerns....Are our schools safe? Do gun laws need to change? How do you even begin to navigate through these daily (and heavy) doses of scrutiny and maintain your true dedication and belief that this still is the best country to be in?
However, here it is. Our day is upon us. 4th of July, our Independence Day. Our greatest day to be patriots and show our pride. It rolls around every year and we raise up our American flags, we wear our red, white, and blue, we eat our hot dogs and drink our beer, and we gleefully finish our day with fireworks because, for this given day, we are all patriots. We unite to love our country. We show our American pride. We are happy to be here and nowhere else. I put on these flip flops every year and join right in too. Then, it's July 5th, the flags are taken down, the good vibes wear off, and all of the nasty news and mud slinging is back . One day, it is pride in our country together, the next day it is conviction in our beliefs against each other. If we don't believe in freedom of speech for those we intensely dislike or disagree with, is it possible, then we really don't believe in it at all?
Now, don't get me wrong. I am proud to be an American and I have my own set of beliefs that I appreciate being able to voice, but, it is the lack of respect towards our elected officials and each other's beliefs that I truly have a problem with.
Part of my patriotism always flourished with sharing our country in the belief that we lived in a extraordinary place where you didn't have to agree with everyone here, but, you did have to respect what all others thought. To me, our country is a melting pot full of different cultures, traditions, and, yes, beliefs, that make us all different but the same in the desire and success to live here and freely practice around each other and not against each other.
We elect officials. Sometimes we get our way, sometimes we don't, but, contrary to disagreement, they are still your president if you live here and I don't share the belief that if they do not represent our chosen party, it gives us free reign to criticize everything they do. Whether I have voted for them or not, I have supported each and every one of them. I don't have to like them but I do want them to succeed. They succeed, we succeed as a whole.
So, even though, Mr. Roosevelt, gives free reign to separate the two, I do want to be patriotic AND support my government. I want our country to succeed and flourish but I don't believe it can with the way we inundate ourselves every day with such negativity about our country and the issues we face.
We abolished slavery, we put a man on the moon, we are a great country! We have a voice, a powerful voice that is commanding and heard near and far, but, I guess, the question I am asking is how do you use your voice? Do you respectfully speak or do you overwhelmingly shout with it?
