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Our nation is engaged war. It is not the first nor will it be the last. As long as evil men live on the earth there will be some who chose to harm their neighbors by making war on them. When that occurs, the victim must fight back or be consumed. Good people in other nations will either do something or nothing. There is honor in doing something to help those who are under attack. There is shame when we do nothing in the face of evil.
Great challenges, such as war or other disasters, test the character of people. Very quickly we find out who we are and what we are made of. These great challenges can determine whether or not a nation will survive. They reveal whether a people are good, courageous and enduring or if they are flawed and decaying. The rise of Islamic terrorism has presented us with just such a challenge.
This is a time for renewed patriotism. Prolonged peace and prosperity have a way of eroding the patriotism of many people. They take their homeland, its freedoms and blessings for granted. They become so engaged in indulging themselves that they have no time to think about the welfare of their nation. While those who lived through the painful years of World War II clearly remember the meaning of patriotism, many of those born since 1945 have never learned its meaning or value.
In its most basic form, patriotism is loyalty to one's country. John Ruskin wrote, "The noblest word in the catalog of social virtues is loyalty.'" Francois de Thou believed, "After what I owe to God, nothing is more dear or more sacred than the love and respect I owe to my country." E. A. Storrs observed, "Love of country is one of the loftiest virtues; and so treason against it has been considered among the most damning sins." Cornelius Nepos wisely noted that "No government is safe unless it is protected by the good will of the people." Adlai Stevenson correctly understood that "True patriotism is not manifested in short, frenzied bursts of emotion. It is the tranquil, steady dedication of a lifetime."
Many ungrateful academics and activists of the political Left disparage patriotism. They ridicule those whose love for their nation is publicly displayed. They portray themselves as citizens of the world, with no special fealty for America. They emphasize their dual loyalty to the land from whence their fathers came. They offer little or no support to our military. Some openly work to undercut the men who voluntarily serve in our military. Henry Cabot Lodge (1880-1914) spoke to this. "Let every man honor and love the land of his birth and the race from which he springs and keep their memory green. It is a pious and honorable duty. But let us be done with British-American and Irish-America and German-American...and all be Americans. If a man is going to be an American at all, let him be so without any qualifying adjectives. And if he is going to be something else, let him drop the word American from his personal description." Today more than ever we need these words!
Theodore Roosevelt made the case in a most telling way. "The man who loves other countries as much as his own stands on a level with the man who loves other women as much as he loves his wife." George Conning painted a stark picture of some of our "one world" spokesman, saying, "A steady patriot of the world alone, the friend of every country but his own."
The suffering and loss of war can bring forth good things in the life of a nation (Rom. 8:28). It can united a splintered people. It can awaken strength in hearts that had grown weak and flabby from sel-indulgence. It can remind millions of their need for God, his protection and his blessings. It reminds million of people of the brevity and uncertainty of life (Jas. 4:14). It stirs the fires of patriotism that had been allowed to smolder in the ashes of a decadent society. Millions of Americans now understand that "Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong" (James. Bryce). Having led our people through the misery and suffering of our Revolution, George Washington believed, "It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the Providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits and humbly implore His protection and favor." In times of national hardship, we say with David, "Blessed is the nation whose God is Jehovah" (Ps. 33:12).
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Article added to SearchWarp.com on Thursday, September 04, 2008 View other articles written by John Waddey(1,270)
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