what is an American Patriot?
16 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
It seems as we approach another election year the term American Patriot is being heard with greater regularity. Typically this term is automatically associated with someone who fights and/or dies for his/her country, our founding fathers and the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Even presidents are in this group, but one need not be any of the above to be an American Patriot.
In the last hundred years there have been many great patriots. The great civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King was an American Patriot. The soldiers who served in two World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, and during the Cold War, were all American Patriots. Susan B. Anthony and Rosa Parks were also American Patriots.
The common thread with all these great people?
They honor/honored the American flag, the Republic for which it stands, and strongly believe in ideal liberty and justice for all. It can be your neighbor, your teacher, your clergyman, your doctor, your nurse, law officer, firefighter, coach, and it can be you!
So what does this all mean then?
Be a law-abiding citizen, participate in your local and national community, educate yourself on the issues, understand the workings of our (your) government, and by all means – register and vote!
Whatever your profession, work hard everyday and help make your country a better place. Believe in the goodness of the American people and in the bounty of our untapped potential.
Do your part, make a difference.
…just lazy?
14 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment
Sorry America, but we (not all of us) have become a country of fat, lazy, DVR driven, reality TV addicts that sit in our lazy boy chairs and complain about things in our home town, state, and Washington DC. Obama this, Bush that, Beck is nutz, Maddow is crazy. We sit there hollering at the television stuffing potato chips in our mouths and chasing it down with our beverage of choice, never taking it a step further. We live in a country of excess, free libraries, and fast food, but won’t put forth any effort to feed our minds. “I went to school, what more do I need to learn? I can read, write, and say my ABC’s”
Why is it that we will bitch and complain about someone or something, take what is broadcast or printed in the newspaper as an absolute, and never investigate it for ourselves? {…just lazy?} We will spend $60 on the latest video game, hundreds on a HDTV, monthly on NetFlix, etc, but won’t take a trip to the local library or do an Internet search on current topics and educate ourselves. {…just lazy?}
Read what Obama and Bush have stated in their books, check up on the current candidates and how they stand on issues that matter most to you. Stop being a sheep and become a wolf of knowledge. Register to vote! Its scary how many citizens are not registered to vote, yet will complain about policy or how that person stood on some issue that mattered to them.
We still live in the greatest country in history, affording us countless opportunities; yet many of us take it for granted and fail to exercise our rights as citizens granted by our constitution. {…just lazy?} Don’t like something? Write your local representative, get involved, become part of the solution, take a side, and just be active.
Conservative? Liberal? Independent? Undecided?
What’s the difference? How do they really differ? Why not make a resolution to research parties as homework?
My opinions may be different than yours, but by educating ourselves on issues and candidates, we can have a more productive discussion and hopefully progress in the “agreed upon direction.”
In closing I can’t help but be concerned that history may repeat itself, yet again. The current direction of this great country reminds me of “The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon”
I leave you for now with some great quotes below:
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world ~Anne Frank
Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does ~William James
Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. ~Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy
