Patriotism isn’t a solely American virtue. People the world over experience love, pride and loyalty to the nation of their birth. None of us has any control over where we were born so I find it interesting to encounter undue pride over this accident of birth. I think we often forget that the British are proud of England, the Chinese are proud of China and I think we all know that the French are exceedingly proud of France. 😉 It’s completely natural and something we Americans would do well to remember.
“He is a poor patriot whose patriotism does not enable him to
understand how all men everywhere feel about their altars
and their hearthstones, their flag and their fatherland.”
~ Harry Emerson Fosdick~
If you aren’t familiar with the lovely hymn, “This Is My Song”, or as it is sometimes called, “A Song of Peace”, please listen and pay close attention to the lyrics:
I think the second verse is particularly worth considering:
My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean,And sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine.But other lands have sunlight too, and clover,And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.Oh, hear my song,thou God of all the nations,A song of peacefor their land and for mine.
Something to think about, isn’t it? Despite what some might like to think, Americans aren’t the only people God loves and blesses. And we certainly aren’t perfect:
If we truly love our country we should own up to our faults and address the many ways in which we fail to demonstrate that well-known line from The Declaration of Independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
I think we still have some work to do, don’t you?
“None of us is free until we all is free.” ~ Harriet Tubman
Great post. I particularly like the Harriet Tubman quote. : )
Well said.
Thanks to both of you. I wasn't sure how this would be received.