Patriotism

"Every good citizen makes his country's honor his own, and cherishes it not only as precious but as sacred. He is willing to risk his life in its defense and is conscious that he gains protection while he gives it"(Andrew Jackson).# Patriotism is the love of one's country and willingness to sacrifice for it.# Citizenship is the state of being vested with the rights, privileges, and duties of a citizen .# Through out history, wars have been fought for the reasons of patriotism and citizenship. Patriotism and citizenship makes up who we are as beings that think and feel. However, patriotism and citizenship are fake virtues that many individuals act upon.

First of all, patriotism implies a value preference for a specific civic or political community.# This sort of definition is nothing to me. Patriotism is nothing but an egg from which wars are hatched.(Guy de Maupassant).# This definition does not capture the true core of the meaning of patriotism because patriotism is a double edged sword. It can hurt a nation while building another. A major example is the September 11 attacks; these attacks provoked patriotism in the United States of America.# The attacks not only caused Americans to stand up and lend a helping hand, but other nations showed support. However, this patriotism caused the extreme Muslim groups to show support for the attacks, and believe that the United States deserved what it got. As a result a training ground for a new cohort of "jihadists" to perform attacks on American forces has increased. As a Muslim, I feel that this patriotism is the true path to death and destruction. I am aggravated of this new patriotism. Why do Americans now begin to put praising magnets on their automobiles and suddenly pray for God to bless America? Why do schools suddenly have a moment of silence for those who lost their lives; why didn't we have a moment of silence for those who died in previous attacks and wars? Patriotism has turned against me like a disloyal serpent. Through patriotism many people had a dislike for Arabs even Arab-Americans such as I. The only difference is the point of view, that is why it is a double edged sword.# One side of the sword is mean to protect while the other side is meant to bring down an individual and teach hate.