Put on That Flag Shirt! Or, Not! <--I Can Help You With That

Before you choose your clothes for the next national holiday, you might want to read this.
And, reconsider how worthy you are of that shirt.
Because here's the definition of "patriot":

Patriot:  1.  "A person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion."

I think I should break that definition down, and see how it pertains to me. 
Do I love my country? Yes, I do. I love the ideals of free speech, equality under the law, and the basic ideas of this democracy. I love to vote, and I love that I can vote. I love the part of the Declaration of Independence that says I have an alienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I love that the Statue of Liberty spells out our welcome to others: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." I love that my country welcomed my ancestors not that many years ago. But, as with any relationship, while I love my country, I know it has flaws. It can be a better country; this is a country that is only as good as the citizens force it to be, because my country is a stubborn entity! I do love the United States of America, but I cannot tell you how weird it makes me feel to say that. My squeamishness dates back to the early 1970's, when those who dared to suggest ways to improve our country, who dared suggest how our country was not friendly to all its' citizens (AKA "dirty hippies" AKA "those damn [insert your favorite racial slur here]") were met with the ever-popular "MY country:  love it or leave it!" followed by "If you love [insert any other country here] so much, why don't you move there?!" To me, any heartfelt discussion ends when the other person says something so offensive. Because I want to make MY country better, because I want MY country to be the best for all citizens, I have to leave??? That makes no sense. The last time I heard this was during a Town Hall in August 2009--I was told if I loved the British Healthcare System so much, I should go back there. There's a segment of our population that thinks love of country equals a blind devotion to it. So, perhaps you can understand why I'm a little squeamish saying I love my country; others have sullied that phrase.
Perhaps here is a good spot to point out that the United States of America is not just its' leaders, it is the people who live here. Being a patriot does not mean blindly supporting any president or any other leader; being a patriot means you support your country, which is people.
Theodore Roosevelt said it best:  "Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else.”

Do I support my country? Yes, I do. I pay taxes, I vote, I read about and follow the events taking place here. I applaud and cheer when my country does something to make the world a better place, and I give advice and voice my opinion when my country does something that would hurt the world. 
Do I defend my country and its interests with devotion ("loyalty and enthusiasm")? Yes! When the United States welcomes refugees, when it gives aid to victims of natural disasters, when the First Lady speaks out for education and equality for all women and girls, when justice is done because our laws are good, and people make sure those laws are followed, yes, I do defend my country with enthusiasm. And, that devotion extends to being always aware of what is happening in my country, by following the news and supporting the journalists who bring us the news. I show my devotion and enthusiasm by contributing to organizations who make sure our laws are upheld fairly (the ACLU), and to organizations who work for healthcare for all (Planned Parenthood). 

This has been a long preamble to what I want to say. What I want to say is that there are a lot of you who think you are patriots who really aren't. Don't be putting on those American flag shirts any time soon, because patriots you are not. 

If you voted for the man who is now the President of the United States, the man who recently declared via Twitter (his chosen platform to communicate as President): 
"The Fake News Media works hard at disparaging & demeaning my use of social media because they don't want America to hear the real story" you might want to rethink your loyalty, your love of country, your support of the United States of America. For in this sentence, he has revealed just how little he cares for the United States of America:  1) He has not revealed a vision, an idea, or a policy to make this country better; usually presidents will use presidential communications for this purpose. 2) He makes you question the free press of this country, a hallmark of our democracy; he's no patriot. I could choose any one of hundreds of tweets by this man, and not one of them would pass the patriot test; not one would speak of love of country, love of any of our guiding principles.
You voted for a man (not a party, not a platform of ideas (because he had none)) who has done more to hurt this country in the past few months than any person ever has. It's no surprise that he did it either--we were warned, the moment he was chosen as the GOP candidate, that he and his administration would be a disaster for this country. So many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many people warned us--warned YOU--that he would do harm to this country:  economists, historians, other leaders in the United States, other world leaders, scientists, ministers, rabbis, the POPE, musicians, teachers, and ME. I told you! I told you he lacked basic skills, basic knowledge, and basic compassion--all of which are needed to be the Leader of the Free World. Instead of love and devotion and support for this country, you chose a leader who would most quickly bring about the end of this democracy as we know it. YOU are no patriot. You voted for him, and this is what we got:

• A man who assigns his son-in-law (a young man with no experience or knowledge of the workings of government) almost all important presidential matters. His SON-IN-LAW.
• A man who uses fear and intimidation to "win" (don't believe me? Didn't he scare you so much about "others" that you voted for him because he promised to be strong??). Not words, not by example, not compromise, but fear.
• A man who praises dictators and alienates allies. Because of his words and actions, the United States is no longer looked to as a leader in climate change, in diplomacy, in democratic principles, and is certainly not looked to to make this world a better place.
• A man who thinks it's okay to ban Muslims from our country. An entire religion is pushed away from our shores. This will never be what the United States stands for.
• A man who played you for your vote, who made you hate any South American person, by telling you he was going to build a wall! That's no leader of a democracy; that's a dictator. 
• A man who, instead of working with a treaty signed by over 190 other countries, has said we will go it alone on global climate change. And, then says we will take steps to make our country more polluted in every way, thus polluting and destroying the rest of the planet. 
• I could go on, but I think we all get the message. The current President of the United States does not work for you or anyone else, he works for himself...

To be patriotic, one must support the ideals of one's country. Our country was built on the ideals of equality, justice, and building and sustaining a country that would make positive contributions to the rest of the world. I think the founders of this country hoped that other countries would look to us as an example of how a government should work; a government elected by a free citizenry, a country where people had the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. A country where every one of its' people worked together to make it, and then the rest of the world, a better place. A people that worked together for the common good, not just for themselves.

Before you put on your favorite patriotic gear, ask yourself if you're worthy. In the words of President John F. Kennedy, "Can we forge against these enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort? In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility — I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love."

THAT, my friends, is patriotism.