I am, by all outward, modern accounts, an unpatriotic man. My loathing for our current incarnation of the state knows few bounds. I despair in our electoral system. Our representatives in this fair Congress neither fairly nor accurately lead in our interest. In the interest of some good, neither common nor welcomed, they lie to take our money and spend it on glorified refuse. But I digress.
I am, by all outward, modern accounts, an unpatriotic man. I gaze upon the state of our society, so divided – polarized, some have called it (accurately, I should say) – and can only pray that it may someday change for the better. Mother is turned against father, parent against child, friend against acquaintance, and in the name of what? Sides of a proverbial aisle? So-called left or right wings? But I digress.
I am, by all outward, modern accounts, an unpatriotic man. In the state-mandated study of our nation’s history, I have seen evil. On the playground, you see a child push another for what? A ball? A chance at the swings? Our nation has committed atrocities for less. There is no defense of our past. No, “but it was a necessary evil,” no, “but the times have changed.” If I may, perhaps I am a product of my upbringing, a holder-on to my beliefs. However, I will hold that evil and good have not changed, nor will they ever. But I digress.
I am, by all outward, modern accounts, an unpatriotic man.
I appeal to you, give me some small minute of your time, ladies and gentlemen.
First, my thesis: I am a patriot in the truest sense of the word.
Second, my defense.
A defining of terms for you, this evening. (It is my hope that this will help to avoid confusion between us and to unify our understanding of the issue.)
I believe a patriot is one who has an intense love for his land and who is devoted to it at all cost. His attachment to his nation is not original with him, but his love is shared by the men and women around him who seek to protect and improve their nation.
A mother or father who truly loves their child will not allow that child to continue in self-destructive behavior, whether that behavior is banging his head against a wall (which I feel we are all wont to do some time or another) or playing with a loaded firearm. Out of love, and it is love, I think, the parent will reprimand their child and encourage him in better behavior.
I am, by all outward, modern accounts, an unpatriotic man.
But this is false. Ladies and gentlemen, I do love my country. I see self-destructive behaviors in the actions of my representative legislatures and in my fellow countrymen. Our divisiveness is toxic, and it burns through the seals and bonds that hold this nation together. I do not hate differences of opinion or ideals; rather, I hold that these variations of thought are what give us life and health as a body, what make us continually new and necessary at the worldwide political table.
What concerns me is our slowness to hear each other’s differences. How willing we are to shut down the other side. To label an entire way of thought, and one that is not so different from your own, as radical, as unworthy of your consideration or conversation. How we take for granted that our elected leader, selected from the masses to ensure our safety and interests, does neither. Imagine my disgust when, year after year, election after election, we are forced to choose between a simpering dolt who panders to the people and a blathering idiot who promises a palace and cannot deliver a wall.
Our leader was intended to represent us all. Not simply a single half of the masses, nor only the profiting elite.
I am, by all outward, modern accounts, an unpatriotic man.
Again, this is untrue. While I myself have sometimes doubted it, I realize that love cannot be the simple, blind devotion that many of you have for this nation. My love for my nation sees the problems that we have. And it hopes to overcome.
Ladies and gentlemen of the gallery, allow me to leave you with a thought. Is it love for one’s country to follow it blindly and to devote oneself unquestioningly to it? Or is it love for one’s country that drives one to question the system? To ask oneself, “Is there a better means of achieving this end?”, not because it will bring a better profit for or greater influence to the party, but because it will truly benefit our nation?
Let us face the facts: we have never been a great nation. Our greatest victories are tainted with prejudice and violence. Discord and strife have been our bedfellows for nearly three centuries, and we have done nothing but welcome them in. We are not the greatest nation on earth. But we can be.
And so, I ask you: will you give the other side a chance? A chance for the “them” to explain themselves. A chance for you to understand your motivations. A chance for you both to come to a mutual realization. A chance for a change. A chance for the better.