Clear the breech

I have learned the difference between a patriot and someone who acts patriotically! A patriot is not just a flag waver or a sideline cheerleader or an armchair general or a civilian advisor or an expert historical analyzer. All of those in and of themselves are fine, but on their best day, that is all they are. Police officers and fire fighters although they may be heroic and often share many of the attributes of a patriot, are not patriots. They may be patriotic, they may risk their life for others, they may be true heroes... but that does not make them a patriot. Being a member of the military does not automatically qualify you as a patriot

A patriot is the person who holds his or her hand up when asked "who will go?" Or "who will answer the call to duty?" Or "who will put their life on the line so that others may enjoy the fruits of freedom?" A patriot also answers these calls with no thought of reward or remuneration beyond the feeling of satisfaction from having done a job well. In fact if you ask a true patriot why they do what they do, they generally won't be able to give you an answer, or they simply say "If I have to explain you wouldn't understand... " in fact, they may not actually understand why they do what they do, it's just inherent to their nature.

By the same token that you can't understand why patriots do what they do, most patriots can't understand why non-patriots are the way they are. They can't understand why some people feel threatened by the American flag, or why some people who have worked so hard to come to America to live under the protection of patriots, feel they owe allegiance to the country they left. Go around the world visit all of the beautiful places there are to see, experience all that the cultures of the world has to offer, stay gone as long as you want. Then come back to America with your mind full of wonderful memories from your travels, and you will be truly rare if you don't feel a certain sense of security or safety that you did not experience anywhere else in the world. And it's not a false sense of security were merely relocating to the land of familiarity or re-associating to the mores with which you grew up, gives you a sense of reassurance. It's not just "there's no place like home", it's "there's no Place like America!"