PATRIOTISM

Patriotism is a love and support for your country. But how can

a person “love” their country? Today, we think about acts of patriotism as pledging allegiance to the flag and singing the national anthem at basketball games. But patriotism is supposed to be more than pledges, songs, and flag waving. It is more than the happy feeling you get when you watch the fireworks on the fourth of July. A patriot is a man or woman who is appreciative for his country. The soldier risking his life overseas fighting to defend our freedom is a patriot. But so is the fifteen-year-old sophomore in high school who studies hard, is friendly with the outcast of the school, volunteers at nursing homes, and recycles. When you help you neighbor and when you do what is right, instead of what is easy, you are loving and protecting you country. We had been sheltered our whole lives and most our lives had been for the most part, perfect. Freedom was something America had won long ago and it didn’t concern us. But that all changed September 11, 2001. When our class was dismissed to go watch this horrific event in the auditorium. Our whole high school just gaped at the television screen, as we heard “thousands presumed dead”. Reality began to set in as President Bush addressed the nation that America was at war. I believe we all began to feel a patriotic connection to our country, and felt a sense of pride for America. It is our home, where we were born and raised. The thought that people just like us, had leapt from the upper floors of the World Trade Center, just because they were choking from the smoke, was so horribly real that all I could do was shake my head. Americas youth is often seen as rebellious, maybe even seen as unfeeling, and uncaring. But from what I’ve seen from my friends, and even those who aren’t my friends, the youth of America is concerned and deeply affected by this tragedy.