The United States is presently at war in Iraq and Afghanistan where American troops are fighting and dying. At home, cars and homes display solid yellow or red, white, and blue ribbons that call for Americans to “Support Our Troops.” It is patriotic for Americans to support their daughters and sons fighting in a war, but this patriotism does not mean that Americans must blindly support the decision to go to war. Being patriotic means that Americans must do the opposite: they must question their government. Questioning the government, voting, and respecting the rights of others are what makes true patriots in a democratic society; blind following of one’s government creates dictatorships. The United States government is not perfect, as …show more content…
For a democracy to work, its citizens must keep informed and vocally express their approval and disapproval. The United States government should not proclaim that protestors are not patriotic. By their very act of thinking independently from the government, they are being true patriots. People who agree with a government’s actions are patriots as well – so long as their agreements are based on how they analyze what the government is doing and base their agreement on thought and not on blind obedience. For example, patriotic proponents of the war in Afghanistan base their support on the need to eliminate Al Qaeda and not on simply accepting that the war is correct because government leaders say it is. These supporters for the war are doing so because they have analyzed why American troops are fighting there and have decided that the government is right. Patriotism is based on analysis and reasoned thought, it is not based on blind obedience. Questioning the government is one part of the definition of an American patriot; a second part is taking that analysis of the government and acting on it through voting. To put it simply, patriots vote. However, voting for the American patriot is not simply casting ballots; it is knowing about the issues and then casting ballots. To vote for Democrats or Republicans simply because the voter has always voted for that party or because the voter’s family has always voted for that party is not being patriotic, it is again being
The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War in the United States, was the prosperous military revolt against Great Britain of Thirteen American Colonies which joined together as the United States of America in July 1776. Originally constrained to fighting in those colonies, after 1778 it additionally became a world war between Britain and France, Netherlands, Spain, and Mysore.
The years of 1763-1765 were truly defining moments for colonist of the colonies, soon to become the United States of America. ‘’War! War! This is the only way!” American Colonist shouted,as they took to the streets proclaiming defiance of British rule. “We as a people shall fight for our freedom and have victory.No more shall we continue to let others control our countries and give our money to a monarch who has no concern for our right’s, dedication that was put forth to help fight and respect us as loyal subjects.We must fight for our freedom!” When American colonist waged war it proved to be the only way for the colonies to become free from Britian. In turn, the colonist were justified in breaking away from England because of: The
American veterans are amazing people because they have been through more than what most people experience, but some are blessed enough to still be here today to tell their story. American veterans to me are brave men and women who risk their lives so we can improve our’s the slightest bit. They make the world a better place everyday.
The movie, The Patriot, is the story of a South Carolina plantation owner, Benjamin Martin, who leads a local militia against British troops in the South during the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. Martin, who is a widower with six children and a veteran of the French and Indian War, wants nothing to do with the war until a brutal British Colonel, William Tavington, kills one of his sons and takes his eldest son, a member of the Continental Army, prisoner. Martin, who’s character is loosely based on Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox, uses guerrilla warfare to cut British supply lines and attack outposts in an attempt to slow General
The “Patriot” takes place in South Carolina in 1776 during the Revolutionary War. It is a story about a widowed father of seven, named Benjamin Martin. Benjamin was involved in the French and Indian War before marrying and starting a family. He is reluctant to join the conflict as he remembers too well his own experience in the earlier French and Indian War. After his wife passed away he does everything to keep his family together and away from war. He is a patriot who wants no part in a war with Britain.
As of February fifth, 2017, the New England Patriots have solidified their placement as the best NFL Dynasty in the history of the National Football League. Not only does The Patriots have the most winningest quarterback in terms of super bowl wins, but Tom Brady as New England’s quarterback has more super bowl championships won then twenty-eight other professional organizations in the NFL.
A patriot is a person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion (“The Definition of Patriot.”). Patriots can be leaders and/or heros. Patriots are willing to do anything can to support the cause they believe in. Three people that are considered patriots are Sybil Ludington, Henry Knox, and Nathanael Greene. America was able to defeat the British thanks to all of the patriots that contributed.
The “American dream,” a promise of the ability to turn your life from rags to riches if you try hard in the United States of America, has been the definition of what it means to be an American. But over time it the American dream has changed and its pledge perhaps more viable than ever. This is due to the simple fact that America as a nation has evolved over time and the core values which its people encompass are a reflection of the times. So as an American how do we define ourselves and our nation outside of the American dream? America has been known over time as a “big brother”- protector of mankind. Yet many of our citizens did not have equal rights until the 1960’s and it took the fourteenth amendment to guarantee equal protection
Should dissent be equated with lack of patriotism? That’s a tough question and in most cases I would say no it is not. The beauty of America is that we have the right of freedom of choice and freedom of speech. As individuals we all vary in opinions and beliefs, not everyone is going to agree with what is happening in our country or around the world. Lack of patriotism to me is the lack of respect that comes from the dissent, such as the burning of the American flag or disrespect to veterans that have served in our armed
The Sons of Liberty was an organization that was created in the Thirteen American Colonies.The secret group was formed to protect the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government.By the end of the year the Sons of Liberty existed to every colony.The Sons of Liberty formed out of a number of smaller protest groups in 1765.The first group was formed out of the Loyal Nine in Boston with other groups soon forming in New York and Connecticut.
Being subjected to public humilation in front of massive crowds with harsh punishments, the loyalists found themselves in a tough predicament between the radicals and their independence from Britian while the loyalists thought differently. Most of the loyalists found their properties vandalized, looted and burned by angry mobs of men. There was no doubt that the patriots of the thirteen colonies controlled the public discourse. There was bound to be a revolt against the British by the patriots because they didn’t agree against the policies imposed by the British parliament. The patriots of “The New World” have a much more logical reasoning than the loyalists because they felt that the British parliament was in
In the past, while learning about the American Revolution I had always thought of America as a united front. The war between the Patriots and Loyalists could even be compared to the war between America and Britain. The Patriots were not justified in abusing and expelling the Loyalists. In the actions the Patriots took against the Loyalists, they violated their unalienable rights, these actions also allowed for history to repeat itself through the civil war in 1861.
Roughly 20 veterans a day commit suicide. Meanwhile, thousands more are left waiting for care they never receive. Men and women serve their country, yet return home to unemployment and homelessness. Thousands of applications for veteran benefits are hopelessly backlogged, and the condition of most VA hospitals is an absolute disgrace. So, why is the system broken and what can we do to fix it?
Not every man who 's fought in a war planned on doing so. In fact, not all of them even want to. It 's rare to find enough people voluntarily willing to lay down their lives for their country, so more often than not militaries used what we would call “citizen soldiers.” Citizen soldiers are exactly what they sound like, regular citizens taken from society and turned into people capable of serving in the military. Although it may seem obvious when plainly written out, citizen soldiers had vastly different experiences compared to career soldiers, and Stephen Ambrose attempted to pin down that specific experience in his book Citizen Soldier. Ambrose uses oral interviews from World War II veterans and other materials to explain the experiences of the common American soldier who served in WWII between D-Day and the eventual surrender of the German forces. However, when examining his book, it 's important to ask how successful Ambrose was in painting an accurate picture of this kind of soldier 's life during his service. Is the information he uses specific to the men who served in Europe, or can it also be linked back to the soldiers in the Pacific? This paper will evaluate his work by comparing it to oral interviews from WWII veterans both from the same areas that Ambrose 's veterans serve in and in locations not included in his work.
This issue isn’t a big issue of patriotism, but is very egocentric. Rousseau says that “every wrongdoer attacks the society’s law and becomes a traitor to the country.”(Rousseau 79) We don’t feel that people who break laws (unless it is treason or something like that.) to be unpatriotic. We still think someone who uses drugs is an American. Hobbes is all about