Happy Patriots' Day to the residents of Massachusetts and Maine. No other holiday seems as relevant to me this year as Patriots' Day. The definition of being patriotic has been open for debate this year more than any other time in recent memory.
The first thing that comes to my mind is the original patriots, those that fought for our freedoms and our liberty. They were the foundation for the country we all live in and thrive in. Many of these patriots made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could live with religious freedom, and freedom to say whatever we think without the fear of the government coming and taking us away for expressing our opinions.
We have many rights and privileges here in the USA that are not afforded people that live in other parts of the world. We have had to defend our way of life against those that sought to destroy us several times in the 234+ years since this way of life was established. We have succeeded every time.
So many people around the globe would give anything to have the life and opportunities we have here. Mexico, and Central and South American countries are great examples. The rate at which people flock here both legally and illegally from those regions is overwhelming. They see that a person working hard can make an honest wage and support their family here; we also have laws that protect human rights. Many coming here from those countries don't enjoy these opportunities and protections in their home countries.
So what is a patriot? I will give you my opinion. You may agree or disagree, that is your prerogative, we live in the USA after all!
To me, a patriot is one who loves their country, would fight to protect their country and their freedoms, votes, pays taxes, follows the law, and speaks up when their elected officials, that are in office to represent them, go astray from the wishes of their constituents. It is not only recommended, it is mandatory that we let our elected officials know when they have gone off course. We want to keep our country great; want to keep it as it was intended to be back when it was established. The government of the people, by the people, and for the people needs to be upheld.
Lately, it seems that our government has gone slightly off of that precept. It is still "of the people"-when last I checked there were no aliens in the government, not any that we have been told about anyway. And we have elected those that are in office. The "by the people" concept still holds; I think we are still operating in a system we designed with the 3 branches of government running the whole. The part that concerns me is the "for the people" section. Our government has lost sight of who it is supposed to answer to.
The government has voted to make itself larger and larger over the years, adding social programs, going into huge amounts of debt to foreign (Communist) governments. It has passed laws that a majority of Americans were not in favor of because they felt they knew what is good for us better than we do. That is definitely not "for the people." It goes against it altogether. And as a patriot, I feel that it is our job to hold our elected officials responsible for the positions they have taken and the laws they have passed that we did not want. I am also very concerned about the amount of debt we are accumulating that we may never be able to reconcile. It is irresponsible to keep adding to the national debt while in the same breath telling Americans they need to cut back on credit card spending, and obtaining mortgages they can't afford to pay. It is time for a little "practice what you preach." I have mentioned in previous posts that I used to have a job where I would search government websites every day and I would see the kinds of things the government was buying. The amount of money wasted on minutia was incredible. It needs to stop. Just as we as individuals need to take responsibility and NOT go into debt we can't afford to crawl out of, so does our government.
The Tea Party has been in the news a lot. I am in favor of what they stand for at this time. I do not know what they will morph into in the future, but for now, they hold my opinions. It is just this Tea Party Movement that I think represents what patriotism is. They are peacefully protesting where they think our government has gone wrong.
I am a lifelong registered Democrat that has not been able to vote Democratic for quite some time. I am disillusioned with the far left wing ideals that the Democrats have come to represent. I now consider myself an Independent. I voted for Scott Brown because I felt he gave us a good chance to start the movement for change in Washington. As I get older, I have gotten more conservative in my beliefs. I am for less government intrusion into our daily lives, more for upholding the laws we currently have on the books, more for supporting our troops whether or not you believe in the war they are fighting, less for political correctness, more for personal responsibility, and much much more for protecting our borders from those who seek to come here illegally. Immigration is not a dirty word. We are all the product of immigrants. Illegal immigration however ruins the process for those who are doing it the right way and uses up vast amounts of our resources.
Too many Senators and Representatives have been in their posts too long. They have made it a lifelong career and that is hurting America. Once they are in Washington for more than one term, they learn the ins and outs, the back room negotiating, the bribery, the pork politics, etc. We don't want that kind of representation anymore. I don't think either Dems or Republicans like all of that but we find ourselves in a kind of gridlock to do anything about how business gets done and how laws get passed.
This is where I think it is imperative for all people that consider themselves patriots to speak up. Let your elected officials know how you feel on every issue they are voting on. Make them accountable if they go to Washington and do the opposite of what they campaigned on. You have a voice--it is your vote. If we are not happy with our Senators and Representatives, we can vote new ones in and give them a whack at it. That is what Massachusetts did this year and I am proud to say I live in a very blue state that voted red because they were tired of what blue was doing for us.
So, on Patriots' day, I say, here's to America, the greatest country on earth. There is no other country I would rather live in. It is a privilege for me to be able to say we have some work to do. We are a work in progress and I hope we progress in a positive way in the very near future.
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