Welcome To BeThink
A Place to Ponder

Think and Travel

Register to Vote: Rock the Vote, powered by Credo Mobile

Reich: Obama Take Over BP

Art of Loving
By Erich Fromm

Abraham H. Maslow: Toward a Psychology of Being

Toward Psychology of Being
By A. H. Maslow

BeThink.org

Cosmic Comic

Two Small Windows in a Pair of Mirrored Doors
By Richard W. Spisak Jr. Travel to peruse.

BeThink Talk

Subscribe to Site [RSS]

buzz-it!

Pondering Patriotism

by: Guest Author

Thu Dec 20, 2007 at 10:00:00 AM EST

Patriotism is defined as

love for or devotion to one's country.

If that be the case then I count myself a true patriot. I love our nation or at least the nation we once were and the nation we may be once again. I am devoted to the cause of restoring our nation to the benefit of all the people once and for all.

Guest Author :: Pondering Patriotism

On the other hand, Julius Caesar was right when he said:

Beware the leader who bangs the drum of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor. For patriotism is indeed a double- edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and patriotism, will offer up all of their rights to the leader and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Julius Caesar.

Any spirit of patriotism may be misused as we in America have seen in the aftermath of 9/11.

And in Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell found a different idea of where patriotism may lead in time:

The ideal set up by the Party was something huge, terrible, and glittering - a world of steel and concrete, of monstrous machines and terrifying weapons - a nation of warriors and fanatics, marching forward in perfect unity, all thinking the same thoughts and shouting the same slogans, perpetually working, fighting, triumphing, persecuting - three hundred million people all with the same face.

Real danger lurks in the wrong that blind patriotism may bring upon the people.

We need a return to basic ideas of right and wrong in this nation today. We who love the country stand for its principles of liberty and justice for all. We stand for ALL the people, not just the privileged and powerful few. America is a nation filled with promise and built on a long history of both right and wrong. It behooves us today to review our past and learn the lessons contained within. Together we can build a nation which deserves patriotic fervor and which responds to that feeling with the reward of living in the greatest country in the world.

To bring about the changes we need today we must all stand together for what is right and good in life. Law and government should be held to standards of right and for a level playing field in which any person may find real success based upon hard work. The people of this great nation, no matter their skin color or sexual preference, no matter their religious leanings, no matter their physical accumulations, all deserve a nation of which they can be proud. We all need a country about which we can say we love that nation as only a true patriot can love.

Can we find that nation in America? I believe the foundation was laid in the Constitution. There are no more powerful words to my mind than the opening of the preamble:

We the People...

We who live in America today hold the reins of government by right of law. The question is, can we take back that right and move our nation in the ways needed for the good of ALL the people?

Tags: Patriotism, Guest Author, Jerry Northington, Possum Ponders, America, Patriot, Constitution, 9/11, Northington Notes, (All Tags)

Print Friendly View

Send As Email

BuzzIt

Pondering Patriotism | 5 comments

I really love the thought of we the people. (11.00 / 1)

There is no stronger force in my life these days. Today we face a nation controlled by money and power. How ever are we to return the power to we the people?

We must succeed if we are to survive as a nation. The fight continues day by day. So long as we continue to hope and to struggle we have a chance one day to regain our country.

Peace.

Northington for Congress

by: possum @ Fri Dec 21, 2007 at 01:23:36 AM UTC

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

blind faith (10.00 / 1)

Dear Jerry . . .

I love this thought and treatise. The references are superior.

Recently, I have often reflected on the role of religion and patriotism. I wonder if at times each embodies blind faith.

I recall post-September 11, 2001 individuals flaunted the flag as though it was a symbol to worship. The significance seemed strength through patriotic power. For me, it was somewhat scary. I felt as though very few people considered what we were fighting for and why.

I cannot forget the logic of cause and effect. Nothing happens in isolation; nor do events occur in a vacuum. If we were to assess more than a moment in history, we might understand why hate can grow to such an extreme, their disdain for "us" and ours for "them." Each country, and its leaders, has a past, separately and together. To ignore all the decades that came before that date does not serve us well. I felt as though American citizenry did not ask the important questions. We trusted with little thought. We often do.

I believe if we assess our own American history we would realize there are many fallacies we accept. We have never been a nation of equals. Personally, I would be ever so pleased if we, as a people, and as a nation lived as the Constitution prescribes. "We need to take the power back?" I would be thrilled if we reclaimed the liberties lost. If we were to actually act as though all men are created equal, I would be so elated there would no words to express my joy.

Also may I say, I love this link to the Constitution. I have referenced the seven glorious articles and twenty-six amendments that speak to democracy often. However, I have not seen this site source before. I think it is truly great.

It is only the giving that makes us what [who] we are. ~ Ian Anderson. Jethro Tull

Betsy L. Angert

BeThink

by: Betsy L. Angert @ Fri Dec 21, 2007 at 03:01:57 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

I fear you are precisely correct. (0.00 / 0)

We have never been a nation of equals.

Our nation has been run by those in power since the inception. Today we see the misuse and abuse of power and money to the most extreme in history. Today we have a government run entirely by the monied few at the expense of the many. I hope to see the day when the people return to their rightful place as the seat of power throughout this great land.

Peace.

Northington for Congress

by: possum @ Sat Dec 22, 2007 at 02:32:47 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I thank you Jerry (10.00 / 1)

I neglected to state how the Julius Caesar quote and the Orwell reference were wondrous. I thank you Jerry for sharing the wisdom.

It is only the giving that makes us what [who] we are. ~ Ian Anderson. Jethro Tull

Betsy L. Angert

BeThink

by: Betsy L. Angert @ Fri Dec 21, 2007 at 03:08:37 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

by: you @ soon

To post this comment click here:

Otherwise click cancel.

Thank you, Betsy. (0.00 / 0)

Those particular quotes really rung my chimes. They resonate deeply in ways that are not yet fully explored. Maybe food for another day's pondering.

Peace.

Northington for Congress

by: possum @ Sat Dec 22, 2007 at 02:29:48 AM UTC

[ Parent ]