XV. The Tradition of Patriotism
Patriotism is just one of those many words in the American language that has so many meanings and meanings that are disagreed upon.
Ralph’s tradition of patriotism is not what George W. Bush or even Barack Obama would like you to believe.
Patriotism is like what Marcus Cicero’s quote, “Freedom is participation in power.”
One is patriotic if he or she loves his or her country and out of that love for his or her country he or she works to improve it and make it more lovable. This is also how you measure politicians’ patriotism: the more effort they put into stopping trouble before it starts and the more effort they put into restoring order and repairing damage when it’s over, the more patriotic a politician is.
I am unable to speak of a past with family that involves the promotion of patriotism. Patriotism or love for one’s country was not a value my parents taught me.
Patriotism in my childhood was always the tainted belief that you take your hat off during the Star - Spangled Banner, you salute the flag, you honor our nation’s veterans on Memorial Day, and you say the pledge of allegiance whenever authority figures deem the pledge of allegiance must be said. Now, my idea of patriotism is much different. I wholly reject that brand of patriotism.
Patriotism, to me, is very similar to Ralph Nader’s idea of patriotism. It is very much like what his parents taught him. It is patriotism that promotes civics and concern for one’s country.
XVI. The Tradition of Solitude
“Yet I know I treasured and relished my solitude, not as an escape or expression of alienation, but as a time for exploration and self-reflection, a time to get to know myself better. Solitude was my engine of renewal, the steward for my self-reliance and the clarifier of my thoughts.”
Whether by accident or on purpose, I adopted a tradition of solitude at some point in my life. If I had to pinpoint it, I would say it happened in 5th or 6th grade when I matured to point where I was writing and creating art on my own.
Solitude helped me to perfect my ability to think and be creative. It provided me the environment to concentrate and write articles. It allowed me to discover music of all genres and hear artists most people my age have never heard. It gave me the time to dive into books. It granted me the chance to escape into film worlds that peaked my imagination.
This tradition was not picked up from family. Nobody encouraged me to spend time in solitude. But, I did find that I was increasingly productive if I could go somewhere without anybody around and either talk to myself, listen to loud music, or get up and wander around exploring the area that I was working in.
If you don’t understand that last sentence, try creating art. We all develop our ways of being productive and creative artists. Mine aren’t necessarily different from past artists but to normal people, they would probably freak people out.
XVII. The Tradition of Civics
Nader asks the question from his experience with his family and childhood, who is more foolish---“The core group of committed voters and taxpayers who engage in the process or the much larger number who habitually abstain from town affairs, leaving their interests to be decided by others?”
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