Are you patriotic?

kitties_and_horses_oh_my!

Tonight my husband and I watched the fireworks for the 4th of July. I've never done this before, save for occasionally peering out of my window as a child hoping to see a few. Tonight was wonderful - beautiful, fun, and there were tons of people there who were behaving themselves at least as well as people behave at assembly. (I'm so confused, aren't non-JW's supposed to be crude, uncaring, stupid, etc.?)

As a child my dad once asked me "are you an American?" I knew it was a trick-question, but I wasn't sure quite what he had up his sleeve and innocently replied "yes, I am a citizen of the U.S." He then gave me a long lecture on how we're citizens of God's Kingdom and not of any government on earth. I was confused, as technically being born in the U.S. did make me a citizen, but I knew for the future what my attitude should be: the U.S. was not my country.

Now that my husband and I have left I am beginning to have small - very, very small - stirrings of what I guess might be called patriotism, at least a little happiness that we're fortunate enough to live here instead of in a dictatorship where we didn't have the right to have our own opinions. It's not that I think everything "my" country does is right, but the tiniest part of me is happy to live here.

Do you ever feel patriotic? Hum the national anthem? Does the flag mean anything to you? I look at the flag and I don't feel a thing. The one thing that does stir something inside me is seeing soldiers...people who are willing to sacrafice everything for a cause they believe in. I had that respect for them even when I was a JW, as being a JW meant being willing to die for a cause. I remember mentioning something like that in service once or twice and being greeted with a stony silence, big surprise.

RAYZORBLADE

This is one of those classic items to see as 'former JWs' how far we've come post-JW.

Myself: I am up here in Canada, and our national celebrations were only 3 days prior to yours in the USA.

But I can stand and sing the anthem, and be proud of my nationality. The same goes for those of any nationality, post-JW.

I am patriotic, but definitely not fanatic.

I enjoyed the celebrations; fireworks, live shows, festivals, and general sense of happiness that goes on during 'our' national day (July 1).

Nice to see former J-dubs enjoying what they rightly should.

K & H: I'm happy to see that you enjoyed your July 4th celebrations .

Gopher

There are times when I feel proud to be a citizen of this nation, yes. Not that I chose to be born here in the USA, but to be part of the world's great experiment of liberty and individual acheivement, I take pride in doing my best.

I enjoy songs like "God Bless the USA" and "America the Beautiful" more than the national anthem. The music is better and they say more than a song about one incident in Baltimore harbor two centuries ago.

even when I was a JW, as being a JW meant being willing to die for a cause. I remember mentioning something like that in service once or twice and being greeted with a stony silence, big surprise.

See what happens when you bring logic into the conversation? Oh no, they can't have any of that!!

Country_Woman

I am and I always was.

Pleasuredome

The one thing that does stir something inside me is seeing soldiers...people who are willing to sacrafice everything for a cause they believe in.

one thing that doesnt stir me inside, is seeing people who are willing to kill for the cause they believe in. i once was a soldier, and now have no respect for the human killing machine.

i once was patriotic. never again. my parents had to copulate somewhere on a piece of land otherwise they would have drowned, it just happened to be england at the time. whats the point of being so proud of something thats completely meaningless other than the fact it divides and manipulates us? (rhetorical question)

Cassiline

I wrote the letter below to my friends who are vetrans of wars past, Vietnam and WW2. I have XXX out their names, but I assume this will tell one how I feel on the matter of patriotism.

However, I send this message to all of our Vets here...

Dear XXX

What it [the fourth of July celebration] meant to me...

Although I realize that the Fourth is a celebration of our independence, I still dwell on the fact that so many gave so much for our independence. Without those like yourselves, XXX, XXX, XXX, XXX this great country of ours would not be possible.

As the celebration wound down and they played the National Anthem we all turned to face "Old Glory" to sing as one voice our countrys song. The fireworks started to go off and I was hit with the thought that you as soldiers were in the thick of battle most likely hearing the artillary which sounds so much like the fireworks I was seeing. I thought the confusion and split second decisions in battle must have been harrowing.

I could not help but think that you were perhaps afraid, lonely, tired, hungry and torn to pieces over the fact you may have to take anothers life.
This touched me and I cried for the piece of childhood and innocence you may have lost being thrown into war. Then I became angry for those who take your service lightly and condemn you for such. And I felt the need to thank you here and say I love each and every one of you for what you gave for us...

So I thank you this day for the "gift" of my country, for its beauty, its diversity, democracy, its strength, it's growth, its abundance, its spirit, the “can do" attitude, its freedoms, its indivinduality, because of what you and so many others gave. I can too enjoy the greatness of this land.

You had what it took to fight for this great nation and your spirit should be reconized more often.

Thank you for fighting for my freedom and equality... thank you for standing up and fighting for our rights so that our children can carry our legacy to future generations.

Love you all

Cassi

Country_Woman

could'nt edit, so I post again.

I am and I always was.
I am not fanatic - I just love my country.
I'm not supporting the politics, but for me patriotic is very basic: I preferably buy products that are produced in my own country (except when these products are to expensive for me or aren't produced here at all)

freedom96

I love this country, but at the same time I realize that there are other great places to live.

Shutterbug

This patroitic feeling was something the dubs, with all of their control methods, could not knock out of me. Last night my wife and I watched the July 4th programs on TV and enjoyed every minute of it. The only problem was deciding who was going to control the remote. The fireworks were awsome !!!

I don't know why Pleasuredome feels the way he does, but I do know that when the shooting starts it is called survival and the strongest force is going to prevail with the fewest deaths. Not the ideal way to do things but sometimes necessary, and those who are willing to put their lives on the line for the rest of us deserve a special thanks. Bug

Kingpawn

Whenever I see a sign in a yard that says "Support President Bush and our troops." I feel nothing but contempt for the Commander in Chief.

The main reason why is that to me, the sign's saying you can't do one or the other; it's all or nothing. Like "America: Love It Or Leave It" from the 1960's. A Neandrathal mind came up with that slogan, not a thinking person, imo. Simplistic "my mind is made up; don't confuse me with the facts" logic.

I think it's perfectly possible to support the troops who went, fought, bled, were injured, and even died, and respect them for their dedication, courage, and willingness to sacrifice. To link the president (deliberate use of lowercase in the title) with that is to tarnish what I feel for the troops. I have as much respect for those who fought as for those who conscienctiously and truthfully, out of sincere moral convictions, refused to fight, or to support it.

That doesn't include those saying "give peace a chance" because to me Hussein had 12 years to disarm. That was one of the conditions of the war's end in 1991. Instead he evaded, interfered with inspections, and so on. He had his chances, took them, and got what he deserved. It's sad the price the world and his own people paid for his obstinancy though.

I made a deliberate decision not to be patriotic* decades ago, beginning with high school pep rallies, an early training ground for this mindset of "We're number one," "my school/company/country right or wrong," and so on. I took what Christ was quoted as saying about the good tree and bad tree producing fruit after their kind and decided the behavior linked to war--looting, rape, atrocities, etc.--made it, and the "gung ho" support for warfare we call patriotism, something to steer clear of.

And then to see the sacrifices of veterans over the centuries to secure our civil liberties being made in vain by many American's willingness to accept curbs and limits on those liberties....

* I like what Country Woman said though--patriotic but not a fanatic.

Are you patriotic?

Share this