Well today is patriot day, in addition to honoring the memory of those who died on September 11th I ask that we all consider the name of this day: Patriot Day. According to Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers, “patriotism is not a short frenzied burst of emotion, but the long and steady dedication of a lifetime” (Jefferson). I once again ask for you to think about the meaning of this day... it is sort of hard is it not. I think the real question is, what is a patriot?

Daniel Webster said that, “I shall know but one country. The ends I aim at shall be my country’s, my God’s and Truth’s. I was born an American; I live an American; I shall die an American” (Webster). Now is this what some would describe as patriotism? Yes and it is often a definition or statement such as this that well describes the men and woman in our armed forces. It is also thus seen that “the epitome of patriotism is the ultimate sacrifice of one's life” (Putnam).

Argo many say that it is those that serve the nation that can and should be considered patriots but one should also consider the words of Supreme Court Justice Brandeis, Louis D. who said that “the only title in our democracy superior to that of President is the title of citizen” (Brandeis). Therefor if the highest job in the land is that of citizen should it not be easiest for a citizen to practice patriotism?

The answer is yes but it begs the question of how. For this I turn to the words of John F. Kennedy, who said that citizens should “ask not what your country can do for you… [but] what you can do for your country” (Kennedy). So what does Kennedy mean by that, does he want us all to go out and be volunteers or something!? No, what he wants us to do is remember out power and duty as citizens and that duty is to be the real leaders and the real power of this nation. How you ask, well as CNN’s Glen Beck once said:
Educate yourself--pass on what you learn to someone else, encourage them to pass it along, and so on. Getting informed, staying informed, and using that knowledge to help us act accordingly is our only chance. We need to realize that these problems aren’t about politics or party lines—at the end of the day, we’re not Democrats or Republicans, but Americans, and this problem applies equally to us all. (Beck)
That is right the way to show your dedication to this great nation and this amazing thing we call democracy is to simply be involved and informed act and think about what you believe is right. Never give up on what is right and fight for it every single day.

Remember that while wrong or evil can be cloaked by the fog of ill intent it can only stay hidden as long as its master is there to pull the strings. What is right and true can stand alone and it shall still stand long after the masquerades have ended.