It’s Time To Take Back The Word “Patriot”

A small group of Americans have hijacked the word “patriot.” It’s time to take it back.

By a small group, I mean people who use the word as a rallying cry around false notions of victimhood. That wrongly preach only the most narrowly defined identity of who we are as Americans is the essence of what made us great. Who’ve somehow come to believe they’ve had their country stolen from them. Who’ve lost the ability to empathize with the pain felt by others. Who believe the very survival of America depended on a savior who feeds their insecurities with rage, hate and negativity. All to be channeled into making America great — by retreating and wrapping themselves in false notions of the past.

Somehow that has come to be seen as being a “patriot.”

That is not the America I grew up in. I remember a country that while flawed, fought and strived to be better. A country that although had a checkered past, truly believed could right historical wrongs for the sake of future generations. A nation that considered it our birthright to show the world that democracy, progress, egalitarianism and prosperity can be enjoyed by many, if not all people. Indeed, we believed in a heroic vision of ourselves. A vision that went hand in hand with being a “patriot.”

I say it is time to start using the word patriot to describe the people who currently embody those heroic ideals. That still fight the very real fight for equality for all. That want to make our country, safer, smarter, more prosperous, and fairer for all people. That believe America must keep evolving to become a better country. Because a true American patriot is someone who believes in striving to improve the lives of all our citizens.