One woman's view: Celebrate independence
Contributing writer
With Independence Day just around the corner, I've been pondering patriotism. Frankly, I began pondering it at the height of the Iraqi war, but decided to give tempers time to cool before commenting in this column.
To me patriotism means loving our country and cherishing its freedoms. If you examine this definition closely, you will realize a number of things patriotism is not. You will notice I said "loving our country," not "loving my country." America belongs to all of us, not only those who happen to agree with my political philosophy.
When the United States invaded Iraq, failure to grasp that concept led to a lot of hostility and name-calling. Many embraced the idea that anyone who was not a gung-ho warmonger was un-American. If you believed it wrong to risk the lives of young Americans to overthrow a corrupt regime on the other side of the world, then you were not "supporting our troops." They never considered that wanting to preserve the safety of military personnel unless our nation is directly threatened might be more supportive than wanting to get them killed.
Don't get me wrong. I do not question the patriotism of those who supported the invasion, including George W. Bush. I just do not think they should question the patriotism of anyone who questions our government's decisions. (By the way, many people in this area who find the slightest criticism of the President unpatriotic have changed their tune since the Clinton administration.)
Those who opposed the war were also sometimes inclined to attack anyone who disagreed with them. Too many on both sides of the question forgot that freedom of speech is fundamental to what our country stands for. Wasn't suppression of opposing opinions the very evil we were trying to obliterate in Iraq?
This leads directly to another phrase in my definition, "cherishing our freedoms." How do we cherish our freedoms? By trying to silence anyone whose opinion differs from ours? By criticizing the media for even giving coverage to groups protesting government policy? I don't think so. I cherish my freedom by exercising my freedom of speech to support those policies I believe in, to criticize those I don't and to defend the freedoms of others, even (or perhaps especially) those who disagree with me.
I hated seeing expressions of patriotism twisted to mean expressions of approval for particular policies. I have a red, white and blue pin with the saying, "United We Stand." I haven't been wearing it much lately for fear some will construe it as mindless support for all United States policies and actions. I bought it after the attack on the World Trade Center, because I couldn't find one that said, "God Bless America," a sentiment I would have preferred. I decided, however, that being united as Americans does not mean giving up my personal freedoms and opinions. After all, individual liberties are what this country was built on; there is nothing more American.
Even flying the flag was seen by many on both sides of the war question as an expression of support for the invasion. Sorry, folks! The flag belongs to all of us. I hope you all will raise Old Glory on July 4. Don't fly it in support of George W. Bush, even if you do support him. Don't fly it in support of any political philosophy. Show the Stars and Stripes to honor our nation and the freedoms its citizens hold — all its citizens of every race, religion, ethnic heritage and ideology. Long may it wave!
