Commentary; Posted: 6/14/06
True patriotism has no political affiliation
Devon Holstad
Guest Columnist
Patriotism is defined as ěLove and devotion to oneís country.î Nowhere in the definition is patriotism branded as democratic or republican. Patriotism is in essence a part of all American men, women, and children.
Some show their patriotism by serving in office, some join the military, and some choose to further the most essential right guaranteed to all Americans in the Bill of Rights: free speech. Above all, patriotism is something that resides in the hearts of the American people, and is shown as such, not by how loud partisan politicians can claim they have patriotism.
The first American president, George Washington, in his farewell address to the people of America that was published in The Independent Chronicle of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Sept. 26, 1796, warned against the establishment of a political party system for fear of the down fall of patriotism.
ěIt serves to distract the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration....agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one....against another....it opens the door to foreign influence and corruption...thus the policy and the will of one country are subjected to the policy and will of another,î said Washington.
The same two-party system that Washington warned against was first seen between the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party after Alexander Hamiltonís proposal for a Bank of the United States drew criticism from Thomas Jefferson and James Madison over the looseness of the Federalistsí Constitutional interpretation.
The two-party system has since evolved, from the Federalists/Democratic-Republicans to the Whigs/Democrats, and eventually to the current Republican/Democratic dogfight we have today.
The current partiesí claims on patriotism are evident on both sides of the aisle. From the Republican monopoly of Memorial Day celebrations at Lakeside Memorial Park to Democratic claims of Republican debauchery, neither party is innocent of fueling the divisive state of government that Washington foresaw hundreds of years ago.
Republicans admittedly, however, being the controlling power of all three branches of government, have been at the forefront of trying to seize patriotism as their own. Those who have questioned those attempts have been branded as unpatriotic.
It is however, as German Revolutionist and former Senator and Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz said in 1899, ěThe peace and welfare of this and coming generations of Americans will be secure only as we cling to the watchword of true patriotism: Our country ó when right to be kept right; when wrong to be put right.î
Those who are today trying to put our country right are instead being chastised for their beliefs and told that only loyal followers of the current administration in charge are patriotic.
Edward R. Murrow, who patriotically challenged the beliefs of discrimination and hatred that Sen. Joseph McCarthy spouted during the Second Red Scare, noted that, ěWe must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it.î
Free speech is not only the most patriotic duty of all, but it is essential to the survival of our Union, and it is the only thing that has saved us from the consequences of the two-party system.
When President Richard Nixon undermined the rights of Americans, it was two reporters who felt things were not right that saved America from one that would be the subjects of an untouchable leader.
The current administration has also come under fire, and those voicing their discontent are being labeled as anti-American.
It is in times like these that we must remember the words of President Theodore Roosevelt, ěTo announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.î
Patriotism has nothing to do with your political affiliation. Patriotism has nothing to do with how loud your ěI love America!î diatribe is, or how much red, white, and blue you have on your sleeve.
True patriotism has everything to do with how much love and compassion you have in your heart, and what you do with it.
In saying goodbye to the nation that he helped create, Washington told all Americans something that we must all live by today: ěThe name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism.î
Devon Holstad lives in Forest Lake and will be a senior at St. Paul Academy this fall.
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