What is Patriotism? :: essays research papers

What is patriotism? Merriam-Webster defines patriotism as love for or devotion to one's country. â€Å"I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually,† James Baldwin. â€Å"The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naà ¯ve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.† H. L. Mencken. What these quotes mean to me is that if some one really loves their country, they will try their best to change that which is wrong, not to be blindly led and follow what people before them have done. At nine-eleven the whole country just all of the sudden turned patriotic. Almost everyone had a flag of some type of solute to our country. It’s sad that such a tragedy is needed to make a country come together. Nine-eleven was just about four years ago, now four years later; the country has already regressed to its state before nine-eleven. What did all of those people die for? Was it to stop terrorism? Well if it was it obviously didn’t work. There are still terrorists. It was used by Bush as an excuse to finish the war his father couldn’t. What are veterans? Merriam-Webster defines veterans as an old soldier of long service: a former member of the armed forces. â€Å"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man,† the most famous quote from John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address. To me this quote represents the idea of being a veteran, you give up your whole life to serve the cause of you’re country not you’re own.