Comments on: Freedom is not Popular

By: Kidologist.com » Why Patriotism?

Kidologist.com » Why Patriotism? — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:03:07 +0000

[...] are quick to “brag” about why we are good! I certainly have blogged about how wonderful America is before, so you may read those if you need to. (that’s four different [...]

By: Karl Bastian

Karl Bastian — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 20:01:52 +0000

thanks timothy. of course you can share it, that’s what blogs are for! if you dont want it shared, dont post it.

it is sad how unAmerican and unPatriotic so many teachers are.

American is a wonderful and beautiful place… not perfect, but the freedom and potential for every American is unmatched anywhere else in the world.

At least in American, this young man has the opportunity to succeed and address the issues he sees. He can be a change agent, unlike in other nations where he might have to just live with it,

By: Timothy

Timothy — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 19:58:59 +0000

Excellent post, Karl. Can I copy it and give it to a few people? Just the other day, I was talking to a teenager who told me how “bad” the U.S. was. Most of her rhetoric had been either been learned at school or from negative media presentations. How sad.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 14:50:11 +0000

This post reminded me of a quote I stumbled upon earlier this very week.

“Patriotism is both a moral and a religious duty. It includes not only the love of our neighbors but of the present and of the future generations.”–Dr. Benjamin Rush (1745-1813); signer of the Declaration of Independence and Revolutionary War doctor.

By: henryjz

henryjz — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 14:50:11 +0000

I do miss being in America sometimes… especially my friends

I agree, though, that critical Americans are the worst.

By: Karl Bastian

Karl Bastian — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 05:36:40 +0000

i agree henry. my issue isn’t with how outsiders view us (or media and movies make us look pretty immoral for starters) it is Americans who are overly critical of America that bug me because they have no idea how good they have it here, since they’ve not been to other countries. sometimes our worst enemies are Americans who don’t appreciate the good. we are far from perfect, but we are far from how negative many Americans act like we are. but i wont get going again.

we miss you here in America!

By: henryjz

henryjz — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 05:34:13 +0000

Let me just start by saying that I love my home country of the United States of America and I am grateful for being born as an American.

Living outside the US for two years now, has given me a greater perspective, though, on how the rest of the world sees the US. I have a better understanding for the negative comments on the US. Do I completely agree, no. What I am saying is that I understand and am not so quick to become defensive.

Instead of simply being reactive to negative attitudes towards the US, I think we really need to see where all this negativity is coming from by stepping outside our limited contexts and seeing the US as others see us. Maybe then we can truly start to change perceptions of the US by changing how we present ourselves to the world. Let's be honest... as Americans we can be pretty arrogant and ignorant of the world around us.

Again, I love my home country. I think that we should celebrate and remember the sacrifices that were (and are continued to be) made for the freedom of America. I just think that sometimes we get too caught up in an us against them mentality and waste time and energy that could be better used towards building God's Kingdom rather than maintaining a temporal way of life.

By: Laura Carr

Laura Carr — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:02:36 +0000

Wow, Karl! That was extremely well said. I agree with you. The silliness of these early “debates” make me sad. National security is the #1 issue, for us and for our children to remain free.

Laura

By: Squonk

Squonk — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:02:36 +0000

Great post Karl!

About a year ago I took my family down to Sprinfield, IL after the International Festival of Christian Puppetry and Ventriloquism in Kankakee,IL. Growing up in IL, going to Springfield was a normal thing for my wife and I...but the kids had never been there.

It's a wonderful place to visit! The Lincoln Museum is amazing and you really do get the sense of how hated Lincoln was (especially in the gallery of political cartoons of the day). The Ghosts program left me trying to figure out how they did that!

Lincoln's tomb is a sacred place. That's the feeling you get as soon as you enter the cemetary. Something just comes over you. As you stand in front of Lincoln's casket, it's hard not to get the sense of how much of an impact this man had on the lives we live now, close to 150 years later.