bgates, you raise an excellent point. Do you really think the government is behind every single crime? That’s taking it a little far, is it not? Still, I’m not convinced the government did this. And if they did, then *who*, and what would be a patriotic action? Perhaps educating others is a first step.
PD, this quote from President Roosevelt is for you, defining patriotism. I think many Americans have confused loyalty to elected officials as patriotism. It is like the church goer who thinks that being godly means being passive and a doormat, never making waves. Jesus made lots of waves, and our founding fathers were courageous and rebellious. They would never had defended an unjust war, never.
“Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else” –
Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States
