THE YING AND YANG OF BEING A PATRIOT

I am a patriot. You know, the kind of patriot that has red, white, and blue in my veins, who stands up for the National Anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance with tears in my eyes, sees our flag as an eternal symbol of our people, who votes, is a community volunteer, has served as a soldier in our nation’s defense, believes in the rights, freedoms, liberties, and responsibilities for all Americans, and is an American Firster. So, what does that make me? Simply put, a patriot.

Before some readers get confused and start fires in their hair, I will explain what I believe a patriot is not. For me, I have a higher calling than being a patriot as I am a Christian. My supreme loyalty is to Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. And the Bible, both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, as the Word of God, transcends both the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. No, that does not make me a “Christian Patriot”, rather that makes me a Christian first who is patriot because my faith tells me to obey the laws of our country and to respect the leaders of our country at the very least. As such, I possess dual citizenship- my primary citizenship is in the New Jerusalem and my secondary is in the United States.

Being a patriot does not mean that I am xenophobic. I respect folks from cultures other than mine and love the diversity they bring to our nation. [By the way, my culture is WWC- white working class. This is not to be confused with my economic class, which is Middle Class. See my essay entitled “Class, not Race” on this blog.] Steady, but regulated, immigration is vital to our nation. Also, a patriotic America Firster is not hostile to other nations, I have lived in Germany and have visited Finland and Russia.

Being a patriot does not make me a believer in democracy. Many of my fellow Americans claim our nation is a democracy. Wrong, The United States is a constitutional republic. When our Founders examined the ancient Greek city of Athens, which many moderns consider the prime example of democracy, they saw chaos and mob rule. So, they added features into our Constitution such as separation of powers, electoral college, and mixed powers of the national and state governments to both regulate change and protect the rights of the minority political opinions.

Being a patriot does not necessarily mean that I am a conservative. I am a conservative, albeit a social conservative in the manner of Edmund Burke, an eighteenth-century Anglo-Irish politician and political philosopher who cherished tradition and history as guides to change, rational and agreeable discussions and debates, and the “little platoons” of society (which I interpret as faith, family, and friends). I am also a limited-government libertarian who believes the Tenth Amendment is perhaps the most violated section of our Constitution.

Since I am a social conservative, some readers may be surprised that I advocate examining the feasibility and desirability of establishing universal basic income basic for all Americans, that I believe climate change is ever-present on our planet, and that I advocate for police reform.

Finally, being a patriot does not mean that I believe that our nation is without fault. Of course, Americans have made mistakes, are currently making mistakes, and will continue to make mistakes. Only a fool would say otherwise! Yet the strength of Western Civilization, with the United States as the current prime example, is to overcome those mistakes and become even stronger.  So, forget the 1619 Project, systemic racism, the Black Lives Matter organization, packing the Supreme Court, abolishing the Electoral College, and all the other foolishness and nonsense. Indeed, the United States is the last best hope for freedom in our world.

Oh yes, one more thing. Being a patriot does NOT make me a fan of the New England Patriots. The Cowboys are America’s Team!