Patriotism is TBD

Patriotism:
love for or devotion to one’s country

We can agree that those in the military are patriots. There have been the rare exceptions, think military crimes, in which a person in uniform has not honored their oath to do the right thing. But year after year, day after day, military personnel put their lives at risk for us. What is more disturbingly prevalent is that we as a society, have not served nor supported such veterans upon their discharge. That, is unpatriotic. Can we agree on that, blue and red?

In the nonprofit arena, many individuals work for a larger purpose in their communities, with limited resources. It could be for people on the street, for abandoned children, abused animals. And it nearly always is for far less compensation than the public or private sector employees. So, perhaps more open to debate, I might posit that long time nonprofit individuals are patriots — and most likely living by strong religious or spiritual values — something that our country has long valued. Can we agree on that, blue and red? Can we find a purple middle ground that believes in building community, in the social contract of brother and sisterhood? Is that really that controversial?

Can we agree that a businessman who only cares about himself is not necessarily a patriot? I know that we, as a nation admire individualism, individual effort, wealth creation and business acumen. So, that businessperson, well, he could potentially be a patriot, but he does not to get tell us if he is a patriot. Much like respect is earned, patriotism is determined by others.

After working in the nonprofit sector on an array of social issues for compensation far less than for profit market rate, I would love to be called a patriot — demonstrating a commitment to making our nation better by helping build better communities. But it is not for me to say.

I can say, that the patriotism of the incoming Administration is TBD — not to be defined as they see fit — but to be determined by the American people. And to make that determination we need the facts, not fluff.