What is patriotism?

[Boats]

WHAT IS PATRIOTISM?
RE: https://foundationofpatriotism.org/d...e-an-american/

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of patriotism is: “a feeling of love for his or her country and supports its authority and interests.”

But, recently, it can be said that how we define patriotism as an American has come under fire. Whether the lines are drawn racially, politically, economically or for some other reason, there seems to be more division in our country than the notion of coming together as countrymen.

What defines a “real” American? Is this concept lost? Forgotten? Fox News recently revealed that entirely too many Americans couldn’t locate Iowa on a map, so how many Americans define patriotism may be even more ambiguous. It’s time to remember why patriotism is important.

While some say history is boring, in order to understand where we are as a country, we have to look at our history. Some people begin understanding patriotism by reading over patriotic quotes which is a good start. If we look back to the origins of our country to say, 1765, when the American territories were ruled by the British government, people living here were upset by unfair taxation. Patrick Henry and others called for the freedom to rule their country the way they saw fit. Sayings like, “Give me liberty or give me death” were heard in many places. In fact, Patrick Henry is credited with helping develop the first 10 amendments of our Constitution. This was clearly a man who understood the definition of patriotism for his time.

Nathan Hale is another notable patriot who was caught and put to death for spying on his newly forming country. Among his last words were, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country”. Clearly, this was another early American who had an understanding that defining patriotism was the challenge of all Americans.

But patriotism defined often supersedes political boundaries. There are many native Americans who fought the settlers and army on behalf of their native land and people-many of whom the native Americans viewed as invaders. These men like Sitting Bull, Geronimo, Tecumseh and others fought and died for the values they considered right. Obviously, what they believed was in conflict with the settlers and guarding armies, but it’s not hard to see how patriotism can be defined by standing up for the values and beliefs of your country.

Abraham Lincoln went against the thinking of the day with his Emancipation Proclamation where he freed the slaves. This was a decision that affected the economic situation of millions of Americans. When it comes to defining patriotism, embracing what’s right is often what’s required. In fact, many historians agree that patriotism is defined by our values.

The same could be said about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the civil rights movement. Still remembered for his speech in Washington where he proclaimed, “..I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” Some Americans viewed his as a threat for these words while still others saw him as a visionary. Either way, his ideas, values and definition of patriotism helped him win a Nobel Peace Prize.

Some people define patriotism by pointing to American military heroes which makes some sense. Our country has a long and proud list of fighting men who have distinguished themselves in battle. Since the creation of the medal in 1861, there are currently around 3400 Medal Of Honor recipients. These men and women have truly demonstrated values consistent with defining patriotism. In fact, it may be the easiest measure of patriotism we have.

What is the true definition of an American and Patriotism? What you have just read defines none and all Patriotism simultaneously. Is it love for country or love of a country’s moral beliefs, policies and foundations? When one says, “I would die for my country,” what exactly is he dying for?

Upon reviewing just a few brief glimpses of American history, one can summize that “Patriotism” is in fact, love for a country’s greater good, or depending on the needs of the particular group, their greater good.

Defining patriotism can be an ambiguous task, but at the Foundation of Patriotism, we believe you first have start defining patriotism with the values that your country holds dear. From there, we can begin to recognize the patriotic behavior that stems from these values. Does the country value honesty, goodness, sacrifice, kindness, peacefulness, etc.? If not, then what values are held in high regard? This is a good beginning to defining patriotism in our country.

[Boats]

WHAT DOES PATRIOTISM MEAN TO YOU?
RE: https://foundationofpatriotism.org/w...mean-to-you-2/

Patriotism is a word that gets tossed around a lot in this country. But, do we ever take the time to stop and consider what it means?

We really need to.

Some Americans would say that patriotism is no longer important. If it’s not, then what has replaced it? To explore that, we need to begin my looking at some things that might help us further define patriotism.

Patriotism has been defined as “love of country”, but for some, that definition doesn’t fully cover the scope of what patriotism means. It’s certainly true that a person can love his country and disagree with some of the decisions that country makes. It’s only in the most extreme forms of government where agreement is mandatory. In fact, some patriots have argued that disagreeing with the leaders of your country is what makes you patriotic in the first place. The point here goes to the idea that those individuals who are willing to think and possibly act outside the accepted norms of a country are the ones that are willing to help define what makes the most sense for that country.

Yet another view on the subject takes the perspective that there is no simple definition of the patriotism. Some thought leaders have suggested that patriotism is defined by a set of values rather than a single idea. Defining patriotism through values such as honesty, truth, goodness, respect, sacrifice, etc. may be an excellent starting place for parents to begin raising strong Americans. Other countries are certainly working hard to recruit our young away from these values in order to do harm to Americans. What exactly is our defense?

While it’s true that defining patriotism with values is a subjective undertaking, it’s a valid starting point. For example, what is truth to one person may not necessarily be so for someone else, but this is precisely where an individual enters a continuum. It can be said that truth is more of a journey than a destination and that is more important to begin that journey than to actually arrive. Regardless, defining patriotism through a set of consistent values gives all Americans a starting point for moving in the same direction rather than arguing semantics.

How do you define patriotism? What’s important to you about being an American? We’d love to hear from you on our Facebook page. Whether you have a definition of patriotism already in your mind, or you’re using this page to help you come to terms with the definition of patriotism, it’s the journey that matters most.

[Boats]

PATRIOTISM: HOW WE’RE LOSING YOUR YOUNG TO ISIS
RE: https://foundationofpatriotism.org/p...young-to-isis/

Back in 2014, CNN published an article outlining exploring how ISIS was so successful in recruiting people from the United States to join their ranks. It is bewildering how young men from various places around America can come to a decision to join one of the most violent groups in recent memory. It can make a person question whether patriotism is dead or lingering on life support.

Certainly, we here at the National Foundation of Patriotism vehemently oppose this notion, but the idea bears exploration. To begin, it’s important to consider how groups like ISIS are finding success in reaching young recruits and motivating them to join. Some of the reasons we found in our research weren’t so surprising and included the following:

Tapping Into Identity Issues

It’s not shocking that ISIS uses social media and other tactics to appeal to young people who are often not only the most impressionable but also detached in many ways from other social groups. The propaganda that ISIS uses is not so different from other destructive causes throughout history in that the stories help create a sense of purpose, camaraderie and identity that can motivate these young people to join.

Religious Duty

Clearly, ISIS embraces radical and extremely violent Muslim ideals that certainly not every Muslim individual accepts. The message from ISIS is clear- it’s your religious duty to join us in our cause. Our jihad or holy war is written about and discussed with passionate language. This message appeals to the foundational identity of certain young Muslims.

Slick Propaganda

Many experts describe ISIS as having the most advanced and sophisticated propaganda machine of any terrorist organization. They produce Hollywood level videos of some of their most vile and violent acts and “successes” with coordination on their social media networks. Their messages are well distributed and very purposeful. Jihadist with Western accents aren’t accidental in delivering not so subtle messages that “you can join us too”.

HOW CAN PATRIOTISM COMBAT THIS?

Many Americans refuse to believe that our country’s best years are behind her, but with an increasing threat like ISIS present, it’s a fair question to consider what we’re doing at patriots to address the situation. Short terms measures like immigration restrictions and monitoring of certain individuals and groups can certainly be part of the answer, but there has to be more. It’s important to look at what we are doing as Americans to instill patriotism in each other and our young.

What is patriotism? How do you define patriotism? Does patriotism even matter anymore? These are excellent talking points to begin discussing with those around us. It’s not just about educating our young about patriotism although that’s a wonderful and important beginning. We have to begin to look at what we’re doing as individuals to promote patriotism around us.

Taking each of the points above and relating it to patriotism, it makes sense to consider how or even if we’re working to instill a sense of patriotism as part of our identity. Unfortunately, in recent years, patriotism seems to become more of an issue around tragedies like 9/11 rather than a more common issue. That’s a mistake on our part.

We’ve done so much to separate church and state that a person can wonder if it’s even ok to talk about patriotism and religion in the same sentence anymore, but that’s a mistake as well. Clearly ISIS has not problem combining violence and religion. If you define patriotism as beginning with a set of values that include things like goodness, truth, personal responsibility, sacrifice and love, then any religion on earth can endorse values like these. From there, it can be a church’s duty to promote patriotism among their followers.

Lastly, one could make an argument that patriotism takes a beating in the media. It’s clear that the negative sells. There’s nothing negative about believing in your country, and while that may not be as popular in terms of moving paper sales, we need to have more conversations about what’s right about our country, and begin to share, post and tweet about this. There’s plenty of material out there.

One of the foundational values of patriotism involves hope for the future. ISIS embraces sells death. They dress death up in religious clothing, but ISIS leaders recently set fire to some of their soldiers who “allowed” Ramadi to fall back into the Iraqi hands. There is no future in ISIS. There is no future in their ideals. No matter what your definition of patriotism is, it’s obvious that patriotism stands tall for the future of our country.

[Boats]

HOW DO YOU DEFINE PATRIOTISM?
RE: https://foundationofpatriotism.org/d...s-an-american/

At the Foundation of Patriotism, we have been asked repeatedly to define patriotism. Is it simply having a love of your country or is it something more? Having a love for your country means a lot of different things to people, but it begins with knowledge. We are committed to helping children as well as adults throughout this great country understand what we stood for and what we stand for now- that’s a great starting point. Part of being passionate about your country means you understand about its past. To us, this is a natural first step toward a definition of patriotism. That’s why we’ve worked hard to present online exhibits that education, inform and entertain. Take time to browse. Take time to understand, and most importantly, take time to get involved.

The Merriam-Webster definition of patriotism is “Love for or devotion to one’s country.” But to us here at Foundation of Patriotism, it’s far more than that. Patriotism is far more complex just a feeling or an idea. Patriotism is a mindset to be attained, accompanied by a pattern of actions. In our eyes, Patriotism is a mission. At the Foundation of Patriotism, we want to go beyond just the definition of patriotism. We want to do all we can to help Americans feel proud of our country. We are committed to educating about our history and encouraging each individual to learn about freedom and become involved in making this country great.

To instill patriotism and a passion for America, the natural first step is to help someone begin to understand where we’ve come from. Our history helps define us. That’s why we’ve worked hard to present online exhibits on patriotism that educate, inform and entertain. Take time to browse. Take time to understand, and most importantly, take time to get involved. We feel the best years of this country are in front of us, not behind us. Patriotism is also about helping others to learn about America and its history so that they too can discover what it means to be patriotic.

Patriotism involves responsibility. Our freedom, while a gift, was not given without a price. We are compelled to learn about those that gave for our country, and we feel responsible to continue to share the lessons of their sacrifice. It’s what also compels us to get involved. We want every American to make his or her voice heard.

The truth is that every individual needs to decide for his or herself what patriotism means. There is no one definition that accurately applies to everyone. Everyone needs to define patriotism on a personal level, but clearly, there will be places where we can all agree. This is where Merriam-Webster comes in. No matter what patriotism means to you, it will, to some degree, involve loving your country, feeling a sense of pride towards it, and devoting thoughts and actions to it. Patriotism involves responsibility. Our freedom was a gift that was given at an extremely precious price. Because of this, we owe it to those before us to learn about the people that made such sacrifices for our country, and we feel responsible to continue to share the lessons of their service. It’s what also compels us to get involved. We want every American to make his or her voice heard.

So take some time to ponder patriotism, what it means to you, and how you think you can demonstrate patriotism in your life. How has your country influenced you, and what can you do to shape the future of your country.

[Boats]

DEFINING PATRIOTISM THROUGH OUR HEROES
RE: https://foundationofpatriotism.org/d...gh-our-heroes/

PATRIOTISM & HEROES

It’s not often that we get asked to define patriotism or we even think of patriotism outside of holidays like the 4th of July or maybe December 7th, but that may be part of the problems in our country today. At the National Foundation Of Patriotism, we think it’s every American’s responsibility as to define patriotism on an individual basis.

So where does one begin in his or her journey to define patriotism? A good start is to begin reading about the history of our country or to browse through patriotic quotes or slogans, but at the end of the day, patriotism can be defined in many different ways. Some people say the definition of patriotism is a love of country. Others might say it’s having a healthy respect for one’s country. Neither of these definitions imply that a person can’t disagree with the leaders of their country.

One way to consider how patriotism might be defined is to look at our nation’s heroes. It was John F. Kennedy who said:

“A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers.”

When considering the history of our nation, it’s easy to see a long list of heroes both in the military and outside. Clearly, the military has given us a proud lineage of heroes to consider, and this very well may be the easiest place to begin to get a sense of what patriotism is all about.

The USS Yorktown is an aircraft carrier anchored in Charleston South Carolina. On that ship, visitors will find an impressive array of vintage airplanes, but tucked away inside the ship is a fairly large room containing a museum dedicated to Medal Of Honor recipients. For some, there may not be enough in this display to touch and feel, but if a person takes the time to read just a few of the reasons these amazing people received the Medal Of Honor, it won’t take long before a sense of pride develops. It’s hard to leave the room after reading about these heroic deeds to not feel proud of being an American. That’s what patriotism is all about.

For those interested in learning more about heroes outside of the military, an individual can look at the long list of Presidential Medal Of Freedom recipients. Established in 1963, this award was designed to replace the Medal Of Freedom which was created in 1945 by Harry S Truman to honor civilian heroes during WWII.

The Presidential Medal Of Freedom was created to honor civilians who made significant contributions to national security, national interests of America, world peace, cultural contributions or other private endeavors. Recipients have included people like:

Hank Aaron
Lucille Ball
Colin Powell
Mother Theresa
Jonas Salk
Neil Armstrong
Paul “Bear” Bryant
Martin Luther King Jr.
Carl Sandburg
Ben Carson
Maya Angelou
Bob Hope
(*) And all those Servicemen & women who have fought and served this Country of ours!

The list of recipients is incredibly impressive.

In fact, it’s hard to go through the list of heroes on this list and not feel proud of their work and accomplishments across many different bodies of work. Just reading this list helps an individual feel proud of the people our country has produced. Isn’t that a good start to defining patriotism?