Many people are patriotic, and stand by their country, but I don’t feel that way. Since 9/11 I have lost confidence in the way our country handles its problems. I feel no sense of nationalism or pride, and think people who still manage to be proud of the way we handled 9/11 are not considering the alternative approaches we could’ve taken. Patriotism is often used as an excuse to condone the wrongdoings of your country, because if you aren’t patriotic, people tend to view you as the enemy. Many people, like myself who aren’t patriotic aren’t terrorists, they’re just dissatisfied with the way our country is run and wish those in power would do something to fix it.

Patriotism is one’s love and pride for me for my country.

But as someone who I cannot remember once said, “I don’t want to love my country like a four-year-old loves its mother, I want to love my country like a man loves a woman”

This quote makes complete sense to me because I feel the exact same way.

A four-year-old loves its mother without questioning whether she is right or wrong. The mother can do no wrong in a four-year-old’s eyes and is always perfect.

When a man loves a woman, he learns her bad side and her good side. He tries to hear other’s opinions of her. He finds out what makes her special.

            America is not the greatest country in the world. It isn’t perfect. And although we were all brought together by the attack on the Twin Towers, we as a country are imperfect. Just like everyone else. When I think of patriotism now, the image of overweight men with Confederate flags gracing their tee shirts come to mind. Their pick-up trucks painted red, white, and blue, their trucker hats boasting the American flag.  They all follow conservative beliefs like lemmings, unable to be persuaded to any other belief. An open mind is inconceivable, and any opinion against leads to eternal, excuse my French, damnation.

            We have been “milking” this attack. It is our excuse for war, and politicians use it as a device to win over voters. Every Muslim in our country is expected to apologize for the extremists, when really, they have no reason too! They did not personally commit this crime.

            I’m not saying that it doesn’t deserve memoriam. I’m not saying that people should just stop mourning the dead, that no monument should be built. It was sad, yeah, but it was 10 years ago. People heal. What about the day World War I ended? All we have is a day off and a couple marathons on TV. World War II? The same. Do you know how many lives we lost in those wars? Millions. However, we don’t use it to scream patriotism at others. They were wars, and they were terrible.

            This is just one attack. What about the one in Ohio? The suicide bomber in the airport? Did we have a concert charmed with celebrities on its anniversary? No.

            We should stop glamorizing patriotism and forcing it on others who don’t believe in it. Yes, America’s a nice place. You can get jobs. Places to live. But we’re falling from grace. Corruption reigns behind closed, government doors. It always has. Watergate? Hello?

            The patriotism that follows 9/11 was understandable; the country needed to band together to heal. But I think it’s time to rip off this 10 year old band-aid.