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The ideals of patriotism
American ideals and patriotism
The ideals of patriotism
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“The good citizen and patriot knows happiness is greater than comfort, more sublime than pleasure,” conveyed John McCain in his essay, A Cause Greater Than Self. He wrote this article in year two thousand eight when TIME magazine asked presidential candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama for their views on what patriotism means. They both sent in opinions: A Faith In Simple Dreams, by Barack Obama and A Cause Greater Than Self, by John McCain. Even though they wrote regarding the same topic, the way they approached it and the points they highlighted, barely overlapped. One of the main differences in their writings is their attitude towards patriotism. In McCain’s essay, he used the phrase, “[we] must do our smaller and less dangerous part …show more content…
McCain’s article features the things that American citizens should give to their nation to demonstrate proper patriotism. For example, in the second paragraph of his article, he explained how Americans coming together in “families, churches, synagogues, museums, symphonies, the Little League, the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, the Salvation Army or the VFW” is a representation of patriotism. Through listing these examples of patriotism, he is giving his reader options of what he or she could do to become a patriot. Another example is when he says, “If you find faults with our country, make it a better one. If you are disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks and work to correct them.” by making this point, he is informing people to contribute to fixing problems they find in their society to make their country a better place. On the other hand, in A faith in simple dreams, Obama focuses on things America gave its citizens that makes them become loyal patriots. One example he gives is the freedoms Americans have: “the idea that we can tuck in our children at night and know that they are fed and clothed and safe from harm; that we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door; that we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe” etc. By saying this, Obama implies that freedoms
America is well known for many things, and one of the main qualities is the idea and practice of freedom and liberty. When thinking of the United States, one would probably say “Land of the free, Home of the brave.” America is a place where citizens have rights, can have happiness, and are free to live the life they choose. Although America is so free now, have citizens always had the rights that they have today? The founding fathers of the United States of America made the way to freedom when the Declaration of Independence was written, but even though it was written down, not all citizens had freedom. When Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote The Declaration of Sentiments, she used The Declaration of Independence as a guide. Freedom was still freedom, of course, but Stanton used it for a purpose that was different from how the founding fathers used it. When Stanton wrote the Declaration of Sentiments, she not only included the way Americans believe in freedom and liberty, she also included the way the beliefs can change and be interpreted in different ways.
In the article, “Colin Kaepernick and the Question of Who Gets to Be Called a ‘Patriot’”, Wesley Morris focuses on the issue of whether or not Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel during the national anthem at football games is disrespectful and unpatriotic. Morris claims that “Patriotism is the cornerstone of football”, while also addressing the tendency Americans have to shift the blame somewhere else. Morris is able to identify other examples of how patriotism can be viewed in different perspectives and how people that have access to large platforms can use their status to shed light on topics that may have been swept under the rug.
In John McCain’s essay “Veterans Day: Never forget their duty” he talks about his friend ,Mike, who was in the same prison camp as he was in and showed the pride that he and his fellow prisoners had for their flag. The American Flag is the most iconic symbol of America and to express pride for The American Flag is to show pride in America itself. On page 7 paragraph 8 “Every afternoon, before we had a bowl of soup, we would hang MIke’s shirt on the wall of our cell and say the Pledge of Allegiance. I know that saying the Pledge of Allegiance may not seem the most important or meaningful part of our day now, but I can assure you that for those men in that stark prison cell, it was, indeed, the most important and meaningful event of our day”. John McCain shares with us that the most important part of their day was to say the Pledge of Allegiance.
"America's present need is not heroics but healing, not nostrums but normalcy, not revolution but restoration .not submergence in internationality but sustainment in triumphant nationality."
In our current society it is established that faith is equated with a type of blind acceptance of all that the church or institution stands for. Having faith is still viewed as a wholesome characteristic, though it is more and more becoming correlated with negative connotation that is commonly attached to a thoughtless, dogmatic approach an absolute obedience of all tenets regardless of conscious thoughts and appeals. In a similar regard, patriotism has become an exemplar of modern faith because it calls for unchallenged compliance with both the laws of the government and their unjustified actions, especially during times of war. Primarily this absolute-authority mindset was instilled within the general population because of the principle of sovereign immunity that was instituted long before the United States was even founded. While widely accepted during the beginning of this country, landmark atrocities initiated by the government, regardless of rationale, emphasized this question of immunity to the people and the court system, eventually leading to revolutionary judgments against the government. Before this, especially during the Cold War, the government fought extensively to keep a jaded population through propaganda. When we view the history of both religion and government, the ideals behind true obedience are strongest when they allow for active engagement on behalf of the citizens, permitting them to question deeply and ultimately follow their consciences. One individual, who had the tragic benefit of being involved with an example of the landmark atrocities the government inflicted, came to the realization that, no matter what obstacles one faces, obedience...
Hayden described how freedom was one of the ways the people suffered and one of the major things that the human truly wanted. Freedom is given to us by the constitution, but it doesn’t always mean what is exactly said. They are free on paper, but there are people who are segregated and secluded. “Points to the contradictions inherent in our American notion, our American rhetoric , of freedom: which, while "be...
Every US citizen all have something in common; freedom. Most Americans go throughout their whole personal life, whether it be work, school, or other activities, never questioning, ”How do I have the opportunity to be able to do these things?” We instead ask and worry about other things, and don’t take time to acknowledge how we are able to have agency in our decisions of everyday life. The First Amendment allows US citizens to have privileges that don’t exist in some countries, like freedom of speech, religion, and the right to petition. Likewise, this amendment is unique to the United States of America, and no other country in the world has as many freedoms as the US. Because of these exclusive rights, we must protect them from being taken away. This is why the US has a military; to protect the freedoms exclusive to America. This is why we have Veterans’ Day; to celebrate the veterans of war who fought and put their lives down to keep their land free. This essay will go over why we should celebrate our country’s warriors, and it will talk about what veterans give up to protect their country, how their personal lives change, and how they affect our community/country.
In the novel All Quiet on the Western Front and the poem "The Man He Killed," the main two characters have similar thoughts and emotions towards war, they both enroll in war for reasons other than patriotism and they also feel that under different situations, their enemies could have been their friends. If both the characters really felt the reason or need to be in the war, their experiences would have been positively different. Through the characters, it is portrayed that patriotism can be expressed mainly through war, but there are other numerous ways to show your love for the country.
With famed verses like, “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country,” Kennedy makes the spectators feel inclined to make an impact in the world they live in. Apart from infusing a sense of obligation in the crowd, Kennedy’s greatest element in his speech was the aptitude to arouse a feeling of esteem in the audience. Kennedy constantly uses phrases about freedom and sovereignty to remind the people they still are. “The heirs of that first revolution.” This dialect portrays America as a powerful and patriarchal republic that possesses greater philanthropy than all the other nations around the world.
Simon Keller argues in his essay "Patriotism as Bad Faith" that patriotism is not a virtue but it is actually a vice. Keller begins by splitting the views on this philosophical debate into three different representations. The first being the "communitarian patriot", where patriotism is not only a valued virtue to someone's self but that it is actually an essential virtue. The second representation is a radical contradiction of the first, known as the "hard universalist. The hard Universalist sees patriotism as a vice instead of being any type of positive virtue. They think that everyone should be valued the same, and that there should be no favoritism. The third representation is the idea of the first two combined, to form what is called the "soft universalist." This view is understood as patriotism is allowed, and is not seen as a vice, but also that one has an obligation to the rest of the world, almost to try and treat them as a loyalty that you would have towards your own country. (p.112).
In his essay, “John Fante’s America,” David Fine argues, “John Fante’s novel, Ask the Dust, offers a number of clear examples of the conflicts and contradictions of American Identity.” Many come to America to live the identity of an American and live the American Dream. To identify as an American, falls within the second paragraph of the U.S. Declaration of Independence; “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” I feel that the founding fathers of America created this, for whoever wished to be a part of the Identification as an American. Regardless of a person’s race, class and or gender, all men would be created equally. In John Fante’s novel, “Ask the Dust, “ the image of American Identity contradicts the true values of what being American is
This piece of the evidence goes to show that Barack Obama made his speech very credible by including something that everyone in the audience have knowledge to. He used the declaration of independence to explain American’s Pride. He used something every American can or could relate or have access to as a way to show credibility on the knowledge of what America stands for. It is our duty to take pride of the paths that we create in the United States of
Defining the American character is quite difficult because American identity is vaguely founded on shared values and ideologies, more so than a particular creed, race, or culture. In order to describe the American character, we will consider the dominate and distinctive qualities of Americans as interpreted by J. Hector St. Jon De Crèvecoeur and Thomas Paine. First, we will examine how Crèvecoeur illustrates Americans as industrious, prideful, and political in “Letters from an American Farmer.” Then, we will analyze from Thomas Paine's “Common Sense” how he depicts the prevalent qualities of Americans to be driven by justice, liberty, emotions, and individualism. Also, because both authors consider the American character and culture different
Nationalism is extreme loyalty and devotion to one particular nation, and many Americans are nationalistic about their country. But even though they are loyal to America, defining what it means to be a true American is tricky. Being American is one complex thing, but the concept of being American can not be fully grasped. What it means to be American may in fact be one of the biggest mysteries of all time. Indeed, discovering what it means to be a true American could possibly take an entire lifetime. One thing, however about all true Americans is certain: we are all alike in that each one of us is different from the Americans in important ways. We are diverse in our backgrounds, races, and religions. Nevertheless, we are exactly identical in the we feel toward our country, even though we express our pride in a million different ways.