It’s July 4 and presently I’m surrounded by the sounds of firecrackers in neighborhoods all around. The firecrackers are always here but I detect that the patriotism that goes with it in this holiday is running deeper. People are stirred because we’ve been in great danger of losing the freedom and prosperity many of us grew up enjoying, but yet, there’s hope around the corner.
An opinion piece in the New York Post reported that patriotism is by far the lowest in the Gen Z age group. The columnist was a Gen Z young lady commenting on her peers. She did an OK job of assessing why – I’d summarize here to say they are more dissatisfied with everything – but the picture was incomplete. If you’re of a certain age, you’re more likely to understand why patriotism is an essential component of one’s disposition, but what would you or I tell a disillusioned Gen Z kid?
It’s undeniable that kids [meant here to refer to any age under which patriotism has suffered, 30? 35? 40?; that our education system intentionally and forcefully compromised their sense of patriotism. We could in fact almost stop there and declare the mystery of missing patriotism solved except for one other crucial factor: parents. Maybe their parents are young enough that they too were stripped of patriotism by their schools and maybe we must go back and ask theirparents, who are largely all still living, where did they go wrong?
While patriotism is largely perceived as a feeling that some attribute to unsophistication and inferior class status; a grossly wrong notion on several levels; when times get bad as they are now, I believe there needs to be a more functional definition. True American patriotism is the knowledge that that all your freedoms and prosperity come at a cost, that if not continually paid, will result in foreclosure and seizure of those privileges. This definition takes it out of the feeling realm and places it more into a legal context, one that if failed, will result in significant physical hardship and a denial of happiness. For a Gen Z-er that means your mobile device, the food, housing, and vehicle you take for granted, and for the same to be denied to your benefactor as well. On a larger level, it means that all the things you get to pick and choose of the state now, may in the future be compelled whether you like it or not, whether it interferes with your life plans, goals, and beliefs or not. Patriotism equals freedom. Sneering at patriotism will eventually result in a figurative or literal yolk on your neck.
Maybe in 2024, this kind of definition is coming more in to focus for some. I could add many thousands of words listing off a litany of American rights and privileges are now in danger because a class of people want socialism, and an even wider class of people want power at any cost, particularly if it is paid by you and not them. I leave that for the rest of this blog. In the meantime, seek to rediscover American patriotism. It is your friend.
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