Does Patriotism still matter?

Does Patriotism still matter? First of all, what does the word “patriotism” mean? The dictionary definition of “patriotism” is devoted love, support, and defense of one’s country, but I feel that patriotism is much more than that. To me the word “patriotism” evokes a feeling of responsibility and reminds me of the words of John F. Kennedy “Ask not, what your country can do for you.  Ask what, you can do for your country.”  Be it a good time or a bad time, the country always needs you, so patriotism still matters and will always matter.

The spirit of patriotism keeps the country united, it brings people from different walks of life to work together to make the country better, stronger and prosperous. Although the symbolism of putting our right hands on our hearts and reciting the pledge of allegiance may add to the spirit of patriotism, the continuous fight for protecting our fundamental values is the real patriotism.

As our country stands for freedom, equal opportunity, and justice for all, these values must be protected at any cost. At the time of adversity these values get attacked by anti-American forces so we need to be vigilant at all times with a true spirit of patriotism.

On 9/11, our country was attacked by external anti-American forces. It was an attack on our freedom and everything that America stood for. Whole country came together and showed patriotism by supporting our government and our military to fight the enemy and at the same time we made sure that liberty of citizens of our country is protected.

Currently we are passing through another adversity. We are facing the worse economic downturn of our times. People are suffering and it is endangering the right to live happily. It’s again a time for us to show our patriotism for our country.  We need to help the needy by sharing. We need to work hard, innovate and transform so that we create more opportunities and put America back on top. To do this, we need strong desire and great ideas about what we can do for the country. So, patriotism still matters and will continue to matter.

As a sixth-grader of HHMS, I show my patriotism by saluting our national flag and paying homage to the fallen braves, but at the same time by listening to our current president, Barack Obama, to study hard.

This post was used to enter the Edublogger blogging contest>