Patriotism to Remember

Author's note:  This is my veteran's essay.  Since I don't have anyone in my family in the service, I tried to just relate this to how I feel about patriotism.  This is what it means to me, and how important I think it is:

Throughout America's history, servicemen and women have helped to shape this country. These patriots make the United States stronger, safer, and better. Without them, who knows where anyone would be? It's unthinkable to even question if Patriotism still matters, yet there are some people out there who still don't understand their importance. We should all recognize the necessities of Patriotism, because that is what keeps us out of harm's way.

People in the service have shown tremendous amounts of this for us, and we need to do the same for them. There are too many of us who misunderstand all that these soldiers stand for, and part of that is because they have never been taught it.

Thousands of families have had someone they love go to war, and sometimes have even lost them in the process. But the fact is, there are so many others that don't know anything about this. Sure, on veteran's day and Memorial Day people talk about it a little bit, but that just doesn't seem like enough. There should be an alternative to understand patriotism better. Patriotism is so important, and we forget that sometimes. Perhaps if it was associated with something everyone can relate to, some way to make them understand all the love and devotion fellow servicemen and woman put into this country. These kinds of things happen all around us, and instead of just forgetting about it, we could set aside time to do something for them.

When the words "veteran" or "soldier" are said, most people automatically think "war." Instead of that, we should be thinking "love," "help," and "honor." In order to make anything work in America, everyone needs to stick together. Whether it's family, friends, or someone we have never even met before, we have to care about one another. Why does it matter if we know the people that fight for us or not? The same amount of love should be shown back to those who do show it, because that is what patriotism is all about. When it comes to patriotism, the people that are true patriots absolutely matter, and that is something that can never be forgotten.