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True Patriotism Is The Love Of Country Which Pursues The Good In Our Own Broken Nation
As July rolls around, we spend a good deal of time feeling patriotic - that feeling that inspires the love of country. Patriotism is considered a virtue which is the feeling of love for what is good in one's country, a wish for it to be better and the feeling that you belong to something.
Our Independence Day celebrations are filled with rodeos, parades, art booths and fireworks. It is a time to remember our nation's heroes - the admirable like Christopher Columbus, Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Robert E. Lee and Douglas MacAthur.
These patriots showed the love of country which we all need to foster.
Some phrases that we use like We The People remind us of words coined during revolutionary France. In fact, our nation was born out of a revolution. While these facts are good to remember so that you don't become a nationalistic fanatic, we need to appreciate what God has given us and what He has allowed to happen.
It is also important to remember that patriotism and nationalism are not the same. According to The American Heritage Dictionary, nationalism and patriotism are defined as:
Nationalism vs Patriotism
Patriotism: Love of and devotion to one's country.
Nationalism: Devotion, especially excessive or undiscriminating devotion, to the interests or culture of a particular nation.
Is It Moral To Foster The Love Of Country When That Country's Heart Has Grown Corrupt?
All the 4th of July celebrations inspired a lot of thought on patriotism. Is it moral to celebrate the birth of a country that is founded with a Masonic foundation? Is it inappropriate to celebrate a country where there is so much evil in its heart?
Patriotism is a feeling of the love of country or attachment to one's own country. True patriotism is the feeling of love for what is good in one's country, a wish for it to be better and the feeling that you belong to something. It's the feeling that you get when someone sings the National Anthem at sports events, parades, and rodeos.
It is the same feeling that inspires the fight-mode switch to turn on when you read the news headlines. It is the same feeling that stirs your heart when you tell the stories of our national heroes.
A Timely Word From President Donald J. Trump And What's At Stake If We Fail To Reclaim Christian Culture
The world has never known anything like our community of nations.
We write symphonies. We pursue innovation. We celebrate our ancient heroes, embrace our timeless traditions and customs, and always seek to explore and discover brand-new frontiers.
We reward brilliance. We strive for excellence, and cherish inspiring works of art that honor God. We treasure the rule of law and protect the right to free speech and free expression.
...We put faith and family...at the center of our lives. And we debate everything. We challenge everything. We seek to know everything so that we can better know ourselves.
...That is who we are. Those are the priceless ties that bind us together as nations, as allies, and as a civilization. What we have, what we inherited from our...ancestors has never existed to this extent before. And if we fail to preserve it, it will never, ever exist again. So we cannot fail.
-President Donald J. Trump
Warsaw, July 2017
A Roman Patriot - St. Sebastian Shows What A Balanced Love For One's Country Looks Like
Patriotism is a virtue and patriots are those who love the good in their country and fight to preserve what good is left or to increase it. I know that I have mentioned this before, but St. Sebastian is one of the highest examples of what a true patriot is.
He is a soldier of Rome - one of the most immoral places in the empire. Yet he can honestly say that he will pour out his life for his county because the love that he feels for it is so strong. A saint's love for pagan Rome?
He does not demonstrate the love of country like a fanatic who feels a strong nationalism, but he shows patriotism in the perfect sense.
St. Sebastian shed his blood for the Faith and for the conversion of Rome - now the heart of Christendom.
The purpose of the virtue of patriotism is to urge us to love, defend, and build upon the true, good and beautiful gifts that God has given our country. Attending and participating in 4th of July celebrations inspires a love for our country and instills in us a desire to defend and build upon the good that we have been given.
Catholic Patriot Wishes Long Life To Nazi Germany?
I'd like to end with another example of a patriot whose country was in a sorry situation - Claus Stauffenberg. He is remembered to history as the man who tried to assassinate Hitler. He also fought alongside the Nazi Germans.
Not because he wanted to but because he was ready to defend the good in his country. He put up with so many hardships, tried to do his country a favor by doing away with the main driving force of evil, was arrested and finally executed.
His cousin by marriage, Baroness Elisabeth von Guttengerg, leaves us a beautiful account of his last moments in her book, Holding the Stirrup.
"Claus Stauffenberg was a solider through and through, one whose love for the Wehrmacht, the real German Army, was outshone only by his deep love of Germany. He had seen them both dishonored, dragged into degradation by a ruthless dictator.
On that night of July 20th, the others died silently, but Claus Stauffenberg raised his voice in a cry for the survival of his country, a last cry of hope and courage. His own faithful chauffeur said that he heard his last words: 'Long live my holy Germany!'"
May all Americans harbor the same love for the United States and may our hearts forever defend the real America.
For Further Reading:
Patriotic Movie Recommendations:
Outlaws of Ravenhurst - a deeper appreciation for the American ideal of tolerating all religions. The Gordon is accustomed to this freedom from his life in America. But when a stranger arrives telling him that he is actually a Scottish laird and brings him to Scotland, the Gordon realizes that there are "worse fates than a farmer's toil."
Good Movies From The 2000s: Titles That You Will Enjoy With Teen And Adult Audiences. Read Movie Recommendation #11: The Patriot
Top Kid Friendly Movies That You Are Going To Love Watching With Your Family On PureFlix! See Our Top Recommendation: Beyond The Mask
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