I ask you folks, on the day after my country turned 234, what patriotism means to you.

To me, there are a lot of things I know it's not.

I know it's not the same as nationalism. Loving (and we can talk about what that word means, too) doesn't require putting down others. When I say I love my family, I don't mean that I consider other people worse. Similarly, I really don't think there are good, bad, best, worst, countries. And as I've said several times, I feel no particular bond with an Alaskan merely because of our shared passport (though I could certainly feel one for any number of other reasons) moreso than I would with a Brit or a Korean.

I know it's not the same as exceptionalism, which shares a lot of elements with my last point.

I know it's not the same as blindness. To not acknowledge certain glaring flaws because they don't fit your preferred narrative may be fairly normal human behavior, but it does us all a disservice. When we look at the flag, we have to be honest and remember that it's caused a whole heaping pile of pain along with whatever glory it wants to (and does) represent.

I know it's not idol worship. Say what folks will about folks who are politically progressive, but the folks who voted for him (myself included) certainly aren't spending much time saying he is beyond criticism, and indeed many of us (myself included) are holding his feet to the fire. Whereas, five years ago, I remember sending someone a facebook friend request, and having her respond that the Bush criticism on my profile was not okay. “That is our leader and we don't speak ill of him,” or some such nonsense. I say this not to bash the right (fond of that though I may be), as the left is guilty of it in our own way (like pre-election Obama, and especially post-election, pre-Presidency Obama). But to merely lay down and pretend our elected officials can do no wrong is not patriotism in any way.

I know it's not hatred, intolerance, or unprovoked bloodshed. Define these terms as you will, but I don't think they're qualities the patriotic ought to have.

And I know it doesn't mean perfection. To be patriotic is not to lack flaws or to pretend to be without them.

I think of it like raising a wayward, brilliant, but occasionally violent teenager. You know it's got the potential to be amazing, and has done, and continues to do, some remarkable things, but it has a lot of maturing to do before it's a full grown adult living out the principles set out for it. We all want different principles to be lived up to, of course. But such is the way I think of patriotism. We want our countries, wherever they are, to improve, we're grateful for the joy they've brought us, we're saddened by the hardship they've brought to others (and to us, as well), and we're aware that, like, real teenagers, it has the potential never to really mature, and instead could corrode into a truly bitter and unpleasant middle-aged person.

To be patriotic is not merely to hope this doesn't occur, but also to work hard to push the country along to greater heights, to be well aware of its many crimes both past and present, to not forget that it does mean different things to others, and to become a citizen that helps push the country forward in some way or another. How we choose to do that is up to us, though being an educator really isn't a bad choice, I must say.

Hope you all had a fine weekend here, there and everywhere, and tell me, what does it mean to you?

Peace and love,
JustinPBG