win32mfc
08-25-2007, 08:04 PM
What is a Patriot?
I've heard people who question the war in Iraq as being un-patriotic. I never could quite wrap my mind around that accusation. Also, it seems that people are quick to assume that not supporting the war is synonymous with not supporting our troops over there. (I do support our troops, wherever they may be -- I support them all the way home, as soon as possible.)
Dictionary.com defines patriot:
1. a person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion.
2. a person who regards himself or herself as a defender, esp. of individual rights, against presumed interference by the federal government.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, ©Random House, Inc. 2006
(I've omitted the 3rd meaning, which refers to the Military Patriot Missle.)
I find it interesting that standing up to the federal govermenment, to defend your individual rights, defines you as a patriot, by way of meaning 2. Yet, at the same time, meaning 1 would imply that you are un-patriotic - for not supporting your country's "interests" with devotion. (Their "interest" being the interference of my individual rights, by, perhaps, unlawful law.)
// CHRIS
I've heard people who question the war in Iraq as being un-patriotic. I never could quite wrap my mind around that accusation. Also, it seems that people are quick to assume that not supporting the war is synonymous with not supporting our troops over there. (I do support our troops, wherever they may be -- I support them all the way home, as soon as possible.)
Dictionary.com defines patriot:
1. a person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion.
2. a person who regards himself or herself as a defender, esp. of individual rights, against presumed interference by the federal government.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, ©Random House, Inc. 2006
(I've omitted the 3rd meaning, which refers to the Military Patriot Missle.)
I find it interesting that standing up to the federal govermenment, to defend your individual rights, defines you as a patriot, by way of meaning 2. Yet, at the same time, meaning 1 would imply that you are un-patriotic - for not supporting your country's "interests" with devotion. (Their "interest" being the interference of my individual rights, by, perhaps, unlawful law.)
// CHRIS