| The
New Patriotism |
| Americans have always shown their patriotism in different
ways. Sometimes it was low-key, or maybe a gentle wave of
the flag, a relaxed salute, a hand softly placed across the
heart, a mumbling of the national anthem, or parades celebrating
national holidays. |
| It's different today. After the terrorists attacks on New
York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington,
D.C., people have not only been wearing their patriotism and
love of America on their sleeves, but also on their lapels,
their hats, their houses, their cars, trucks and motorcycles,
and have even painted their faces. |
| Patriotic songs are sung louder, flags are bigger, salutes
sharper, music crisper, and everything American is being honored
as beautiful, even sacred. |
| But even with all of this super-charged, old-fashioned patriotism,
there is a new way that people are honoring America. I call
it The New Patriotism. It goes something like this: |
| 1.
When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping.
|
| That's what President Bush wants us all to do. Go out there
and spend money to keep the economy rolling. |
| Unfortunately, these uncertain times are making many of
us horde our money, to save more and spend less. According
to The New Patriotism, that's down right unpatriotic. |
| Spending is good. Saving is bad. |
| |
| 2.
Travel and play until it hurts. |
| This might be another way of spending money to help the
economy, but it also has the added benefit of showing others,
especially the world, that we are not afraid and we will not
be intimidated. |
| So get on that airplane and fly to see your sister. Hop
on that train and head for New York City to see a play. Take
a Greyhound bus to see your grandmother. Go to a football
game. A hockey game. A basketball game. Go out and have a
meal at a restaurant. |
| Go have some fun and snub your nose at those who would force
you to stay home. |
| |
| 3.
Learn the history of America. |
| Read, then read some more. Ask questions of your teachers,
of your parents, of your grandparents. Learn from their experiences
and understand how the history of America portends the future
of America. |
| President Roosevelt, speaking to the nation shortly after
the attack on Pearl Harbor, uttered the famous phrase, "We
have nothing to fear but fear itself." President Kennedy
said, in his inaugural speech, that we should "ask not
what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for
your country." Reread those speeches. |
| Learn why the Revolutionary War was fought. Read the Constitution.
Study the history of the Civil War and World War I. |
| And maybe most importantly, The New Patriotism says to remember
why we fought Hitler, the retched monster who threatened to
make the entire world his evil world. |
| We fought and we conquered. Don't ever forget that, and
learn how that part of the world's ugly history must never
happen again, and must never be forgotten. |
| |
| 4.
No man, or country, is an island. |
| We do not fight today's battles alone. We do it with many
friends, among them Britain, German, France, Australia, Canada
and many more. |
| The New Patriotism says we can never again afford to be
isolationists, but must remember that we are all a part of
the Family of Man. |
| |
| 5.
Be nice. |
| What an innovative idea, but I've seen a change in the way
people react to other people. They hold doors open for you,
say good morning, let you in line, and aren't so eager to
blow their car horns or cut in front of you. |
| Return telephone calls and don't hide behind voice mail.
Be polite. Be a neighbor. Be nice. It's all part of The New
Patriotism. |
| |
| 6.
Learn about America the beautiful. |
| What a country we live in! The history of America is not
only filled with struggles to retain our freedoms, to protect
our constitution, but to preserve the beauty, the peace, the
majesty of this country. |
| As Woody Guthrie wrote: |
| "This land is your land, this land is my land |
| From California, to the New York Island |
| From the redwood forest, to the gulf stream waters |
| This land was made for you and me." |
| The New Patriotism says that, now more than ever, this land's
still made for you and me. Let's protect it, from sea to shining
sea. |
| |
| 7.
Unite and be strong. |
| There's a reason we call our country the United States of
America. It is made up of many small pieces, all of which,
when added together, make up the whole of America. Every state,
in its own uniqueness, makes for a unique America. |
| And what is it that needs to be united? The New Patriotism
says it is the uniqueness of the people, of culture, of religion,
of work, of geographic differences, of accents and dress,
of ancestry, of young and old, of race, of education, of politics
and of hopes and dreams. |
| The unification of all of that which is American, and allowing
those differences to remain and to be celebrated, is the strength
of this country and is at the core of The New Patriotism. |
| And that's Our Town this week. |
