Can There Be a Combination of Patriotic Views to Attain an Overall Meaning?

Can There Be a Combination of Patriotic Views to Attain an Overall Meaning?

Patriotism is a noble virtue, it is a love for one’s country, inspiring man to do everything just and fair for the wellbeing and betterment for his country. It is the quality that impels a man to sacrifice his own interest, comfort, pleasure, and in some cases, his life, for the sake of his own country. The word patriotism itself invokes a host of qualities or virtues, this includes honesty, responsibility, commitment, and dedication for the country and countrymen. Patriotic zeal makes a man dutiful, energetic, and enthusiastic. A patriotic man abides by the laws of the country, pays taxes, works for the development of the country and things only of doing good for the country. Never does he do anything that goes against the interest of the country. Never does he involve himself with criminal, antisocial, and anti-state activities. Always upholding the dignity and status of the country, he respects the country and countrymen. A true patriot is ever vigilant to protect the country’s freedom, sovereignty, and integrity. If need be, a patriot sacrifices his life for the country.

Within the Declaration of Independence, all men are created equal, endowed not by government, but by their creator with certain unalienable rights. Premier among those rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Government must be limited to protecting the peace and preserving our liberties, and doing so through the consent of the governed. It is the right of a free person to rid themselves of a government that becomes destructive of those ends, as our Founders did in a supreme act of courage and defiance more than two hundred years ago. Call it freedom, call it liberty, call it whatever you want, but it’s the bedrock on which this nation was founded and from which we stray at our peril. It’s what has defined us as Americans. It’s what almost everyone who has ever lived on this planet has yearned for. It makes life worth living, which means it’s worth fighting and dying for. True patriotism has nothing to do with little flags on politicians' lapels. It's not about symbols; it's about actions. It's not about odes to American greatness; it's about taking on your government when it goes astray.

Walter Berns censures that we have forgotten the concept of the “Republic for which it stands” (387) as he analyses the First Amendment, interpreting the American flag as a symbol of patriotism. As the symbol of this new country, devoted to concepts from the Declaration of Independence, friends pledge to the flag and salute it, as enemies burn it (387). Berns expresses that actions speak louder than words, defending impulsive speech as “speech implies a listener—one speaks to someone—and, as well, the willingness to be a listener in return” (388) extending not a freedom of expression, but a freedom