I recently said to a good friend, "I'm not a patriot." It just fell out of my mouth.
I thought about my statement afterward and looked up the meaning of the word patriot: "a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors."
I thought, Well, I'm not that person.
But I might be, depending on what a country stands for. I cannot vigorously support much of what Trump propounds from his bully keyboard. But does what he propound really line up with the principles on which our country was founded? But, I even question the founding of our country.
I mentioned the book A People's History of the United States to my friend. I said something about the Revolutionary War being fought by the middle class (and lower classes, though I don't recall if I said that to my friend), that I question the founding of our country, and that I "question everything." My friend responded something like, 'So you think we should still be under British rule?' That was a good question. I chuckled and answered, "Well, no." But on later thought, I pondered, Where would we be now if we hadn't fought?
I've only read a small portion of A People's History.... I can't recall the exact details of what I read regarding the Revolutionary War, but I do recall part of the sense I was left with. That is, in my words, that the war was fought more for power and wealth than for freedom. From a simple reasoning of the war, that rings true. We fought for independence from British rule and their taxation; ie: power and wealth. One could say a fight for power and wealth is a fight for freedom. And that may be true, at least for the powerful and wealthy. But what of the poor or the slave or the women or the indigenous peoples of a land? But there's a lot of context and background to all of that. Usually cultures and beliefs change slowly, not overnight. Like life, decisions and circumstances don't fit neatly in a box. I didn't voice all that to my friend at the time; my brain wasn't working well enough, and we were talking off the cuff.
Corey Booker recently stated that patriotism is a love of country. I thought, I do love my country, but it's the people and the land. It involves respect and dignity and rights. But what if I lived in the Middle East, torn by war for decades and centuries? Would I still love my country?
My husband and I chose to homeschool our children (though I prefer the term eclectic-schooling). When the children and I were studying social studies and reading about communist China, I wondered what we would be like if we were born in China of Chinese ancestry. Would we love our country? I think we would. I lean toward the opinion that us humans probably carry an innate, genetic, cellular memory that gives us an affinity toward our roots.
Through elementary school and into middle school, the children and I would read our Bibles aloud almost every day at the breakfast table. We pledged allegiance to the United States flag. The children learned patriotic songs and history. They were in a big musical production about our country which was presented to the community in the Old Rock School auditorium in Valdese, NC. They participated in smaller plays and Bible school at churches that tied into the Judeo-Christian values of our country. (Yes, my husband and I allowed that participation even while we were loyal to The Way, which held and still holds major doctrinal differences from mainstream Christianity.)
But even then I didn't identify myself as "a patriot," though I was emotionally moved by certain songs and the pledge. I did identify myself as a believer.
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Added note: The friend with whom I had the above conversation is a Trump supporter. I fall in the category of a "never Trumper," a label certain Republicans adopted, though I'm not a Republican. I lean pretty far left in ideally. John Lennon's song Imagine comes to mind - all the world as one. But, practically, I'm more of a Centrist or left-leaning moderate. Sometime after the 2016 election, my friend and I made the conscious choice to not discuss politics. The conversation in which I made my statement was a slight veer from our pre-agreement. Despite our political differences, my friend and I are still good friends. And for that, I am thankful.
