We had to bring our truck to the Ford dealership for a recall on primary voting day, While we were sitting in the lounge waiting for it the news was all about the voting. One reporter was at a ski hill and as folks came down the hill he would talk to them. One question he was asking was " do you consider yourself a patriot"? I was sort of surprised at how many of them said "no". After mulling over it for awhile, I looked up the definition of patriot. " A person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it". Am I a patriot? Are you a patriot?
I am a second generation American. My people came here not because of a tyrannical government, but because they were starving and there was no respite in sight. They were desperate and brave, They went down into the steerage of ships and got tossed and tumbled across the ocean with their meager belongings to a place they had no concrete idea of, They did not know the language, Mostly the men came first and saved up enough money to send for the family, It might be a few years with out much communication at all. They came through Ellis Island and did all the proper things and suddenly found themselves on the streets of New York City, I think they were definitely the brave, who came to the land of the free,
They found homes, they found jobs, they made better lives for their children, Lots of then did not know how to read or write in any language. They signed papers with an X. They sent the children to school where they learned English and got educations. My parents graduated from high school and went to collage. My dad got drafted into the Army and went to War. For his country. My mom stayed home and continued life while he was gone. For her country,
People I know were in every conflict since they came here. Some of them never came back. Some of them came back forever scarred by these conflicts. I am proud to say they are my people. I am glad they were patriots. I think I am a patriot, too, because of my heritage, I want the same for my children and my future generations, Be a patriot.
