Life’s Lesson; What is a Patriot?

I received an email tonight from a long time friend, and her daughter is looking for an example of patriotism for a class assignment. I was honored that she asked me for assistance. I guess we can first go to a dictionary example and then build on the definition from there.


pa·tri·ot (ptr-t, -t) n. One who loves, supports, and defends one's country.

The reading of this definition does not really say who qualifies as a patriot. We could say that a civil rights lawyer fits this definition, but in Jay’s world I would not really put a lawyer in the category of Patriot. Ok, then a Soldier is a Patriot? Well, I have known some pretty bad Soldiers and I would not label them Patriot either. Samuel Johnson wrote that “Patriotism is the last resort of scoundrels”, yet we cannot say that scoundrels are patriots. As I write this, I have changed many paragraphs and sentences and will bounce around a little between what is and what is not a patriot, before I can give a definition that will be suitable for Jay’s world.

Mel Gibson did a wonderful movie a couple of years ago, and it was aptly named, The Patriot. It was the story of a father that did not want to fight in The Revolutionary War, nor let his children fight, but when the fight came to his door, he fought to defend his family and ultimately his country. I remember reading an interview that the character Mel Gibson played was loosely based on 5 actual individuals of the American Revolution including Francis Marion a man called, “The Swamp Fox”.

I don’t believe a patriot is a talker. A patriot is definitely a doer. A man that sits on his porch and defends his country verbally is not a Patriot in Jay’s world. I apologize for offending any of my readers, but I don’t believe ideas alone make a man a patriot. To fall into the category takes some personal sacrifice. Ok, then how much sacrifice? What must a man be willing to give, to fit into the category of Patriot? The dictionary says “to defend ones country”, and that means a fight. OK, so a patriot must be willing to fight. Now we have a quagmire. What is a patriotic fight, and what is a street brawl? Is a political battle acceptable, or does it need to be a battlefield engagement? Let me give a crude example. Recently, my 6 year old, was in a fight in school. On the first day, a boy punched him in his belly and my son fearing expulsion from school, did not hit back. My daughter on the other hand, told the boy to leave her brother alone, and the boy walked away but only after calling some names. I had to have a talk with my son about not acting like a Frenchman, and letting him know it is ok to defend himself and his sister. On the second day, my son told the boy that the boy should apologize for calling his sister names and when the boy did not, my son gave the boy a knee strike to the belly and a punch to the head. I guess that 4K dollars for a Black Belt in Tae kwon do paid off. On day 3, the other boys father must have had a similar talk with his son, and came back for more. Only this time, when the boy started hitting my boy, instead of my daughter telling him to stop, she jumped in and helped my son hit the other boy. Now, allow me to tie this together and connect it to a metaphor for patriotism. When it was just about Anakin (my six year old), he didn’t feel he needed to fight. When it became about his sister and his family, he did. Looking at my Daughters example, she did not fight right away. Words alone were enough to stop the fight, but when the boy returned words were not enough. Fair was not an issue, stopping the fight was. She was defending her little brother and force was valid.

A Patriot is not a man that jumps into a fight just for the sake of fighting. A Patriot does not fight for his country just because he has the opportunity to fight. A Patriot has to believe in his country and believe in the fight. I know many men that joined the National Guard so that they could have their college paid for by their respective States. Some men join the military in hopes they will win ribbons or to advance in a career. Some men join so that they can travel the world in a kind of paid for pleasure cruise. These men’s motives are selfish. To some, the military is nothing more then a job training program. The war is an inconvenience for these types, and they do not want to fight. I would not call them Patriots just because they are serving in the military. Again, this is not disrespect towards our servicemen, but rather to distinguish between a Patriot and an opportunist.

Let’s look at a man that I truly believe is a Patriot and what he did to earn that title with me. Pat Tillman was a very successfully football player. He could have made millions of dollars running around a grass stadium and doing Nike commercials, but he didn’t. Mr. Tillman instead, joined the Army, became a Ranger, and went to Afghanistan to fight against the terrorist that struck at our nation. He died fighting for his family and for America. Pat Tillman was a Patriot. He did not join the army to pay for college. He did not join the army to learn a trade or travel the world to have sex with exotic hookers. He saw his country attacked, and his countrymen killed. His way of life and his family were threatened, and he gave up all he had to defend what was most important to him. In the dictionary, when you look up “Patriot”, Pat Tillman’s photo should be there.

During World War two, America had men like, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin, Audie Murphy, Mr. Rogers and Bob Keeshan the guy that played Captain Kangaroo. These men left all they had, joined the military, went over seas and fought in the war. Later they returned home and continued to make America a better place with positive American stories and wholesome entertainment. Today in Hollywood, we have Alec Baldwin, George Clooney, Tim Robbins, Martin Sheen, Sean Penn and Jeanine Geroffalo types, insulting America, spreading hate and anti American propaganda. They make speeches and movies for personal gain and all on the blood of Americans that fought for what they believe in. It’s easy for flag raising French guys, or their resident wannabes, to sit back and bad mouth America, but it takes a Patriot to stand up for what is right; to sacrifice for their beliefs, and fight for what they believe in. If you don’t mind a little crude humor, ok, a lot of crude humor, the movie Team America: World Police is actually a decent movie in its portrayal of Anti American Actors.

To be a Patriot, is to be proud of your county. You cannot be a patriot and be ashamed of your country, talk bad about her, or insult her to others. Imagine me having a disagreement with my wife and then talking bad about her to someone outside my home. Insulting her or airing out dirty laundry in public. How long do you think I would remain married? A house divided against itself cannot stand, and anyone that bad mouths or insults his country to other countries can automatically be taken off the list of Patriot.



So, using my Hollywood example, my real life example, and a little of my own family examples, I have painted a picture of what a Patriot is not, and what a Patriot should be. Now, I need to come up with a practical definition. Patriot: A man that consciously and willingly takes up the fight, to defend his family and his Country against her enemies. It is a selfless act of sacrifice and servitude performed with pride.

This is a working definition but I think it reflects my views appropriately. Are there other definitions? Of course there are. Can people other then warriors fit this definition? Of course they can. Can the fight be a non military fight? Yes it can. Although we have flexibility in our label of patriot, keep it simple. Pride, sacrifice, and battle, are terms that should be applied to any definition of Patriot and any person being spoken about in that context.

Don’t be French!