Image : http://www.flickr.com
Is America losing its sense of patriotism?
It seems so.
Veterans Day parades were scarce and skimpy, but more disturbing was the almost universal indifference of spectators to our national flag.
As a new national holiday, Veterans Day conflicts with the more established national anniversaries.
Memorial Day honors our war dead, and Independence Day recognizes our dramatic beginning.
November 11 originally marked the armistice of what was supposed to be "the war to end wars." It will be sometime -- undoubtedly before Veterans Day achieves much meaning.
There is no excuse, though, for the monumental discourtesies accorded our flag these days whenever shown or paraded - Fourth of July or National Pickle Week.
In the Veterans Day parade I attended, only myself and two others within sight took off our hats and placed our hands over our hearts. Not only that, but the people standing nearby looked at me as if I were some kind of show off.
I have never been able to warm up to Astronaut John Glenn since he made a point of telling Congress how patriotic he was. Then, hero worshippers gushed at how wonderful it was that a celebrity would declare -- right out in public -- how proud he was of our country.
What a left-handed admission of the decline in patriotism by the public at large! In my opinion, a political or military leader's patriotism should be taken for granted. If patriotism is so unusual that we should have to take special note of it when discovered, then the nation at large suffers from a serious lack of noble emotion.
* * *
Patriotism ebbs and flows in response to the influence of national emergencies. Obviously, we tend to feel a stirring in our breasts when our homeland is threatened. However, the decline in patriotism appears to be a long-term trend.
The New York Daily News recently made a study of American history books and found a definite diminution of patriotic information in texts written after 1920.
For example, Nathan Hale's historic words-"I regret that I have but one life to give my country"-were found in 11 of the 14 pre-1920 books reviewed and in only two of the 45 new ones.
I can appreciate that our American history has been purged of myths - such as that of George Washington cutting down the cherry tree - but why have the true and famous words of our heroes been censored?
No wonder our youngsters find American history dull and uninteresting. No wonder some of our educators are suspected of being incompetent - if not communist oriented.
Our rich heritage of inspiration is not being passed on to our children. They are not receiving either the knowledge or motivation to understand and appreciate our nation.
* * *
One of the reasons I still salute the flag in the citizens' manner, I am sure, is that I remember so well my history lessons. The chronology of all American events is fixed in my mind by the great words our patriots have uttered in times of crisis.
Patrick Henry's challenge to the Virginia Assembly debating revolution was, "Give me liberty or give me death." It gave me goose pimples when I declaimed it at a high school speech contest, and it still does.
"We must hang together, or assuredly we will all hang separately," warned Benjamin Franklin to the men who hesitated to break with England. And then he concluded, "God helps them that help themselves."
James Otis of Massachusetts wrapped up the sentiment of the colonies when he declared, "Taxation without representation is tyranny."
When British troops marched out of Boston in 1775, to seize the weapons stored at Concord, they were met on the road at Lexington by Captain John Parker's "minute men." His famous instructions were, "Stand your ground. Don't fire unless fired upon; but if they mean to have a war, let it begin here."
"Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes," Col. William Prescott told his outnumbered American soldiers at Bunker and Breed Hills.
Naval Commander John Paul Jones proudly rejected the British demand that he surrender his damaged ship with a curt message, "I have not yet begun to fight."
"We hold these truths to be self-evident," wrote Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence, "that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
"Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute," shouted Congressman Robert Harper of South Carolina when the French demanded bribes before receiving our new minister.
The War of 1812 is remembered for Capt. James Lawrence's dying words to his crew after a fight with a British man of war - "Don't give up the ship."
"Our country, right or wrong," was the oft-repeated toast of naval hero Stephen Decatur after a punitive expedition against the Barbary pirates in 1816.
"Remember the Alamo," "Remember the Maine," and "Remember Pearl Harbor" are similar admonitions but memorable each in its own right.
Admiral David Farragut will be remembered forever for his angry order at Mobile Bay during the Civil War, "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead."
Abraham Lincoln called for a new determination that "government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth."
In my day, we have had fewer rousing slogans, but some are worthy of history.
"There is nothing to fear but fear itself," said Franklin D. Roosevelt.
"Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition," was the practical advice given by Lt. Cdr. Howell Forgy on a cruiser at Pearl Harbor.
"I shall return," said General Douglas MacArthur as he retreated from the Philippines. And he did.
And what GI in World War II will ever forget General Anthony McAuliffe's terse reply to a German demand he surrender - "Nuts!"
* * *
I cannot help but wonder if the relegation of our old rallying cries to the ash heap of history might not explain why the latest selective service figures list 21,000 men as conscientious objectors. Even during the fighting years of World War II there were only 13,000 conscientious objectors.
www.lindseywilliams.org/Editorial_Archives/1964_11-_Patriotism.htm
Lindsey Williams is a retired newspaper publisher and syndicated columnist who can be contacted LinWms@lindseywilliams.org
Website: http://www.lindseywilliams.org with over 1,500 of Lin's Editorial & At Large articles written over 40 years.
Also featured in its entirety is Lin's groundbreaking book "Boldly Onward," that critically analyzes and develops theories about the original Spanish explorers of America. (fully indexed/searchable)
No comments:
Post a Comment