I Am a Patriotic American

Don’t Try to Tell Me Otherwise

I am a patriotic American.

BECAUSE I AM – 

I believe life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are inalienable rights. For everyone.

I believe all people are created equal, regardless of country of origin or citizenship, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, color or creed.

I honor the USA flag and what it symbolizes. And because I do, I’ll fight for every USA citizen’s right to drape themselves in it, wear its likeness on caps and T-shirts, put it on pottery and lame wooden signs and, in the extreme, burn it in protest if they feel they must.

I will question the decisions, actions and inactions of our government, just as our nation’s founders did.

I support veterans and military personnel. I am duty-bound to them, their families and our country to question the reasons they are sent into harm’s way.

Because I am a patriotic American, I’ll fight for every USA citizen’s right to peacefully protest injustices perpetrated upon ourselves and our fellow citizens.

I have a responsibility to inform myself about candidates and issues, and to vote in every election.

I believe in majority rule. However, as a patriotic American, I will never believe for a millisecond that alignment with the majority automatically makes one right.

Because I am a patriotic American, I honor not just our Country, but our country. That means I’ll do whatever I can to protect the quality of our air, lands, waterways and planet to leave them in pristine condition for my children and yours.

I honor immigrants, from my great-great grandparents – immigrants themselves who helped build this nation – to people coming today in search of better lives. I wouldn’t be here without immigrants, and unless you’re Native American, neither would you.

I believe we are obligated to honor treaties with Native peoples, just as we do agreements with other sovereign nations.

I believe in every person’s right to better themselves, as long as their actions do not cut down, misrepresent or swindle someone else.

I take pride in being a member of an honorable nation. And to me that means treating other nations and their peoples with the same respect we expect.

I believe in a clear and uncompromised separation of church and state.

I acknowledge every USA citizen’s right to formulate, hold and propagate opinions, and every other USA citizen’s right to agree, disagree or ignore them.

I am a patriotic American, and because I am, I’m confident in my right to hold these beliefs. I trust in my Constitutional rights to think, say and write about them without fear of reprisal from my government.

Because I am a patriotic American, I acknowledge and accept your right to your views and definitions of patriotism, even when we disagree. And I expect you to acknowledge and accept mine.

I am a patriotic American, and because I am, I celebrate Independence Day every July 4. I honor the courageous patriots who questioned their government, who defied it in a bold declaration, and who fought for the rights and opportunities so many citizens of the USA now enjoy, even as I struggle to correct their failures to extend those rights and opportunities to all.

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