September 11. Six years to the day that the world changed forever. I would be remiss if I didn't write something in commemoration and memorial of this most infamous day.
Last night, while I was listening to the Mark Levin show, he made the comment that his listening audience are patriots.
That started me thinking. As usual.
Am I a patriot? Are you? What makes a patriot? What defines a patriot? Is it an ambiguous term? Is it a relative term?
Webster defines a patriot as:
"One who loves his or her country and supports its authority and interests."
That brings up more questions. Do I really love my country? Do you? Maybe the most important question that begs an answer is "Why?" Why does anyone love their country? I suppose there are as many answers to that question as there are patriots.
I think about the infighting that goes on incessantly between the political parties in my country. And, because of that, I am ashamed for my country.
I think of the hatred that many Americans demonstrate towards the leaders of this country and I wonder what kind of future we are bequeathing to our children.
I think of the disdain and disrespect so many people have for my country and I doubt their patriotism.
I think of the destruction of the very morals and the principles that this country was founded upon and I weep for my country.
I think of the hordes of illegals streaming across our borders and I begin to believe the country, as we now know it, will soon cease to exist.
But do I love this country? Do I really love this country? Just what is it about this country that deserves my love or respect? Is the fact that I was born here warrant an undying, everlasting love for and largely undeserved devotion to this country?
And then I remember. This country has more advantages, more promise, more opportunity than any nation on earth. This country has more freedom. More Liberty. We have more rights than any country on earth.
We in this country have the privilege to hire our own boss. We can also fire him without fear of repercussion. How sweet is that?
We have the strongest military, the highest median income, the lowest rate of poverty on earth. We live in the wealthiest nation on earth, and we have the drive and ambition and perseverance of the American workingman to thank for that.
People come to America from all over the world in search of a better life for themselves and their families. They brave armed soldiers and all sorts of obstacles to escape their native lands to enjoy freedom.
How little we Americans appreciate what we have!
Yes. By Webster's definition, I am a patriot. I do love my country. I support her authority and her interests.
And then there was September 11, 2001.
The day that changed all of us in a profound way.
Think back, if you will, to that fateful day. Do you remember what you were doing when the world came crashing down at our feet? Do you remember what you thought when you saw the towers fall? Do you remember how you wept for the thousands of lives lost and ruined by the murderous act of 19 cowardly deluded religious zealots?
Do you remember that day?
There were no dissenters on that day. There were few Americans that openly admitted hatred for America on that day. On that day, a nation stood together, united in grief and disbelief. We supported one another. We were one people on that day. Liberal and Conservative. Republican and Democrat. On that day, we were all Americans.
Do you remember?
Yes, it was just for that one day, but soon the dissenters emerged, and placed the blame on our own leaders, and called for surrender and appeasement. And called the terrorists "freedom fighters" and their victims, "Little Eichmanns".
And the patriots called loudly and forcefully for vengeance.
But, for that one day, we were all patriots.
22 comments:
Yes...I remember that day.
Always will.
Having traveled and lived all over the world, there is not a doubt in my mind that I live in the greatest country the world has ever seen. There is also not a doubt in my mind that people are trying to change everything about this country, pervert our Founding Fathers' vision. They are not patriots.
There is something miraculous about this country. We've been around for only 250 years. Civilizations in Europe, Asia and the Middle East have been around for thousands. But in just over two centuries, we have established a culture that the entire world envies. If they say they don't, they're lying. Yet, there are "Americans" who call us imperialists, racists, the root of all evil. They are not patriots.
As the Supreme Court said about pornography, I can't define it, but I know it when I see it.
WE WILL NEVER FORGET!!
Excellent post, Mark, and thoughtful as usual.
Yes, I remember that day and always will too. It's a shame we could only stay united for that one terrible day. I too am a patriot. I love this country and the people who have fought for us to have the rights that we enjoy. To bad so many people don't realize why they have the right to dissent. Now the NYT's puts out an add by moveon.org that calls a patriot, a man who has given his adult life to serving this country, "General Betray Us" instead of General Petreaus! They would probably claim to be patriots but they don't even begin to understand what that word means!
God bless.
Hi Mark,
Excellent post. And yes, you are a patriot!
I agree with Lone Ranger. Excellent points.
Blessings
That we are to stand by the president, right or wrong is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.
~Theodore Roosevelt
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your governmant when it deserves it.
~Mark Twain
'My country, right or wrong' is a thing no patriot would ever think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying 'My mother, drunk or sober.'
~GK Chesterton
May we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.
~Dwight D. Eisenhower
Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.
~George Washington
Patriot: the person who can holler the loudest without knowing what he is hollering about.
~Mark Twain
Dan, one thing I can say for you. You are consistent. But do you really want to align yourself with the people who are...shall we say....less than patriotic? By the quotes you dredged up, one would surmise that you despise patriotism. According to Webster, you are not a patriot. Your momma must be very proud of you. Why do you hate your country so much? And since you do, why are ypou still in this country?
Lone Ranger, so you would say that "patriot" is a relative term?
I love the US, I love our ideals. I stand behind our ideals and oppose those who'd undermine them. THAT's the sort of patriotism that I endorse.
You are bearing false witness again, Mark, naughty, naughty.
How are those quotes "anti-patriotism"? Aren't they all (or mostly) quotes that encourage a True Patriotism of love of country and distrust of gov't?
And you think that by aligning myself with Mark Twain, George Washington, GK Chesterton and Dwight Eisenhower, I'm somehow proving my lack of patriotism???! Does that even make sense?! Do you think of those individuals as unpatriotic?!!
Is this some kind of upside down universe here?
And webster defines patriot as "one who loves his or her country and supports its authority and interests"
I love my country. I support it's best interest and legitimate moral and legal authority but strongly oppose actions against US interest and against our laws and best morality.
How does that disagree with Webster?
Again, have I entered some bizarro universe where everything is backwards here at CPBS?
Forgive me, Dan. I foolishly read quotes by real patriots, taken out of context and used to support a decidely un-patriotic position, and I lost my cool. How silly of me to question the patriotism of someone who supposedly read my entire blog entry, and deliberately missed the point because he simply wanted to argue that treason is patriotic.
Tell me, Dan. When the towers crumbled were you cheering or crying? I can't tell from your attitude.
Well said my friend!
We will never forget! God bless America and those who defedn our freedoms and have fallen in defense of her and saving lives for her!
VICTORY!
Mark, anyone with even a modicum of decency will have the visions of 9/11 forever burned into their memories. I will always remember, not only because it was cowardly attack on my country, but also because I lost a cousin, on that day, who worked in Tower Two.
like the LONE RANGER, I also believe that there are many people, who call themselves U.S. citizens, who are hell bent on changing everything about this country and perverting everything our Founding Fathers stood for. LONE RANGER is correct, They are not patriots.
I do not believe that to be a patriot, we are to follow our leaders blindly. We do have the right and duty to support our elected leaders ONLY in so long as those leaders up hold the Constitution of the United States. Once they deviate from that course, then it is our PATRIOTIC duty to either force them to obey the Constitution or force them out of Office, and we do not always have to wait until their term of office is up. To do so could result in a lot of damage to our country.
Yes, Abouna, that is what I meant when I said we can hire and fire our own boss. I was referring to any government leader that doesn't represent his constituents properly.
What your resident non-patriot Dan will never appreciate is that this is the greatest country God ever set on the face of the earth.
You need no better example to prove this claim than the millions of people from all over the world that will risk their lives to come here, legally or otherwise.
Reagan said we were a "Shining city on a hill" and the beacon of our freedom, opportunity and fair treatment are unequaled.
Our light of hope didn't dim in the slightest on September 11th. It shone brighter to all those in the world with whom we join in defeating the evil of Islamism.
That's something your resident pacifist, appeasing socialist weanie will never understand. Why doesn't he just move to the paradise of North Korea or Cuba and be done with it?
I was referring to any government leader that doesn't represent his constituents properly.
I agree, with one modifier:
Any Government leader that doesn't represent his constituents within the boundaries of the U.S. Constitution.
Look at what the Democrat Copngress has done in the past few months...
NONE of it has been Constitutional.
Not even close.
Not even the stuff that they have tried to do and failed to push through into Law.
Our Elected Leaders abandoned the Constitution long ago, and it's time that they were reminded that they too have boundaries and guidelines that they must follow, or they betray their oaths of office. (And I'm not talking about the Patriot Act.)
(And I'm not just referring to Democrats, either.)
Do you remember the whole Congress singing the National Anthem on the Capiton steps on 9/12?
Do you remember the Democrats calling for a special vote to authorize the President to pursue and punish Terrorists where ever in the World they may be hiding in the days that followed 9/11?
I do.
Great post!
Glad you're back!
Cap'n,
Wasn't it "God Bless America" on the Capitol steps?
Dan,
Your use of those quotes is accusatory. So, one by one:
We don't stand by Bush right or wrong and never did. -TR
We don't support our government when it isn't deserved -MT
Same as the first. -GKC
We don't confuse honest dissent with stupidity and self-serving politics. -DDE
We do, particularly the self-serving politics disguised as patriotism. -GW
This last one is wrong. He's describing modern day liberal Democrats. -MT
Mark,
Great post except for one thing: I think our unity lasted more like twenty minutes. Then, we heard crap about where Bush was, and how long he sat in the classroom after hearing the news. It just degraded from there.
But I'll never forget the day and what motivated the scumbags who perpetrated the deed. Too many still don't understand. Others deny. They are as dangerous as the scumbags.
I stand corrected.
Thanks, Marshall.
Although I should have remembered the song, as it is so rare to hear any Democrat mention God blessing ANYTHING.
Whew! That there dan feller is at it again! The one thing that brings Americans together, and his hatred of our people, and our country, just shines right thru despite his hypocritical protestations...
No problem Cap'n. I just couldn't remember any of 'em trying to hit the high notes in the Anthem. But also, don't forget, the Dems will be religious anytime it serves them to be so.
May we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.
~Dwight D. Eisenhower
I think this quote, provided by Dan, epitomizes the animosity between the right and left the last few years. The left sees themselves as honest dissenters, while the right sees them as disloyal subversives.
Actually, I see the left as socialists, for that is what they are.
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