I am wildly patriotic and I always enjoy meeting others who are,
too. Upon discovering our
commonality, we'll exchange stories of how this
brings us to tears or that fills us
with jubilation. Quite often it's the
same things that affect us so deeply
and instigates powerful emotions. Those
things are words. Not just any
words, but patriotic words.
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| photo by Neringa Bryant |
Where are these words?
They're in patriotic speeches, national monuments, historic documents,
museum exhibits, TV commercials, movies, books, poems, and in songs. Basically, they're everywhere. I can be having a perfectly perfect
time at an event and hear the National Anthem and get all choked up. I know to bring tissue to visit
national monuments. Seeing and
reading the actual Declaration of Independence in the National Archives or the
words in Emma Lazarus' sonnet at the base of the Statue of Liberty and
I'm a mess. I believe in those
words.
What are those words?
At the Lincoln Memorial, I was in awe of the compelling
words all over the interior, including:
" Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought
forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to
the proposition that all men are created equal... that this nation, under God,
shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the
people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." These words fire me up. They give me goosebumps.
In the movie National
Treasure: Book of Secrets (I loved both films and can't wait to see the
third) the lead characters and story are as patriotic as they come:
Ben Gates: "...And because you're the President of the
United States, sir. Whether by innate character or the oath you took to defend the
Constitution or the weight of history that falls upon you, I believe you to be
an honorable man, sir."
US President: "Gates, people don't believe that stuff
anymore."
Ben Gates: "They want to believe it."
