Patriotism On A Community Level/Being An American
“Nothing in life is more liberating than to fight for a cause larger than yourself, something that encompasses you but is not defined by your existence alone.” This was stated by John McCain, in his book entitled; Faith of My Fathers: A Family Memoir. The quote stated above resonates a lot with my ideals of patriotism which is doing something for a larger cause than yourself. The word patriotism itself is defined as a noun meaning the quality of being patriotic; vigorous support for one’s country. Patriotism is not only ones devotion to ones homeland, but one’s integrity, courage, and love towards a cause much higher than oneself.
McCain stated realistic, ideal, and key points in his essay about patriotism and the meaning towards humanity and society. Much like when McCain stated in his essay entitled; A Cause Greater Than Self, “Patriotism means more than holding your hand over your heart during the national anthem. It means more than walking into a voting booth every two or four years and pulling a lever. Patriotism is a love and a duty, a love of country expressed in good citizenship.” This quote is saying that patriotism is much more than holding your hand up to your heart when pledging allegiance to the flag. It emphasizes the importance of one’s contribution as well as integrity towards society and the community as a whole.
Courage is an extremely commonly used word when it comes to people in the community. In McCains essay he stated, “Patriotism is countless acts of love, kindness and courage that have no witness or heraldry and are especially commendable because they are unrecorded.” This quote correlates with what courage has to do with patriotism in the community. Patriotism is basically almost similar to a Good Samaritan which is when people are kind, courages, and supportive without being told to do so. I believe that Good Samaritan laws are great because it goes hand and hand with patriotism and the efforts of the numerous individuals in the community that try to do their part to make their world a better place.
Progress in community as well as civilization is significantly important because it revolves around the fact that members of the community can come together as individuals and make progress as a whole instead of one section. When McCain stated, “For their mistake is an impediment not only to our progress as a civilization but to their happiness as individuals.” This added onto the idea that people as a whole can join together to do something selfless as well as productive which in turn betters not only the individuals in the community, but the community as a whole.
Patriotism in fact is tremendously important because it makes one think about the actions that one group or member in society can accomplish as a team instead of individually. Also it conjures up the idea of selflessness and courage to give back to the community not only in a small town, but on a global level. I believe that patriotism can be accomplished everyday when individuals try and associate the word with the ideals and concepts of kindness, courage, love, and selflessness. We must encourage and inform our community about how to be a great citizen not only to our community, but the world. These are the key concepts that is what being an American is like.
