How to Be a 21st Century Patriot
How to Be a 21st Century Patriot
21 things you can do for your America as the next election approaches.
By Don Feder
You don’t have to be a millionaire donor or a FOX news contributor to strike a blow for one nation under God. Here are a few things you can do as an individual. You owe America a debt you can never repay. But you can make a down payment.
1. Fly the flag – Every time a patriot sees the flag flying it lifts his or her spirit. Take a stand against the millionaire athletes who virtue-flash by kneeling during the National Anthem. We rally to the flag in times of trouble. (Remember all of the flags that flew after 9/11.) This is such a time.
2. Thank police officers and soldiers for their service – Don’t let the loudmouthed left prevail. Tell the men and women in uniform that you appreciate their service and sacrifice and know that they are our first line of defense against the jungle, both at home and abroad.
3. Read American history – To defend America, you have to understand America. Reading books like Paul Johnson’s History of the American People and David McCullough’s 1776, Mornings on Horseback, and Truman are good places to start. Put down the remote control and get turned on by your country’s history.
4. Study the history of 20th century totalitarianism – Ultimately, this is where the left wants to take us. Antifa and Black Lives Matter are advance parties. Paul Johnson’s Modern Times: A History of the World from the 1920s to the 1980s helps puts it in perspective. There’s also Leftism Revisited: From de Sade and Marx to Hitler and Pol Pot by Erik von Kuehnelt-Ledhn. Hard to find, but worth the effort.
5. Visit historic sites – Like Concord, Gettysburg, Independence Hall, the National Archives Building (repository of the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence), and Arlington National Center. When you go, do so with reverence, as if you were on a pilgrimage. In a way, you are. Being where American history was made gives you a special feeling for our nation. We can move into the future inspired by the past.
6. On the 4th of July, encourage public readings of the Declaration of Independence – Whether it’s at a backyard barbecue or on the beach, it’s important to get back to basics. The Declaration is America’s founding document. It remains one of the best cases ever made for self-government. The Constitution is the plan; the Declaration is the argument.
7. Learn about the United States Constitution – This includes reading commentaries. You can’t defend our system of government without understanding how it was designed to work. Don’t rely on the courts or politicians, who distort the Constitution in some truly grotesque ways to further their agenda. Find out for yourself.
8. On Memorial Day, decorate the graves of those who served – If you don’t have a family member who fought, find a military cemetery and honor someone buried there. They deserve to be remembered.
9. Learn the origins of Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and the AOC Democrat Party and what they want. Tell others – Know your enemy. The suburban simpletons with Black Lives Matter yard signs haven’t even an inkling of what the group stands for – Marxism, racism and anti-Semitism.
10. Be alert to dangers abroad – We live in a world of predators who must be confronted. Communist China and international Islam aren’t benign entities but malignancies dedicated to our destruction. To ignore imminent danger is suicidal.
11. Vote – Elections have turned on a handful of ballots. Even if you think your vote has little value, don’t throw away a right Americans have fought and died for. You’ve probably heard, “Don’t vote; it only encourages the bastards.” Wrong. If you don’t vote, it gives the bastards a freehand.
12. Become a gun owner, if you’re not one already – Exercise your Second Amendment right. Mr. Madison put it in the Bill of Rights for a reason. Besides serving as a means of self-defense, gun ownership can be viewed as a philosophical statement – it says that you’re prepared to assume the responsibility of protecting our way of life.
13. Oppose illegal immigration — Support border security and oppose sanctuary cities. Learn what open borders are doing to America. Without borders, a country is just a piece of territory.
14. Understand that being an American is about heart and mind. Patriots come in all colors – America has never been based on race or religion. As Henry V says in Shakespeare’s play, “For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.”
15. Fight those who would destroy statues and other monuments – We need to defend them for the same reason those who hate America are driven to attack them: they are tangible reminders of our history and heritage. The enemy doesn’t want Americans to remember their glorious past. Columbus did more than sail the ocean blue. He was the beginning of our national adventure.
16. Protect faith from the secularist onslaught — It’s God who makes America great. God gives us the strength to carry on in the darkest times. Ideologues like the ACLU don’t want to separate church and state (a deliberately distorted concept), but Judeo-Christian morality and our laws and institutions. Antonio Gramsci, the father of cultural Marxism, said religion and family were bulwarks against communism.
17. Know the connection between strong families and a strong America – Men don’t fight for abstractions but for their homes and families. The family is the incubator of civic virtue. Since love of country isn’t taught in the schools or mainstream media anymore, the family must fill the vacuum. What undermines the family undermines America.
18. Insist on English as our official language – The English language is the glue that holds us together as a people. From the Mayflower Compact to the latest law passed by Congress, our history has been written in English. In a nation, people who can’t talk to each other often end up fighting each other.
19. Stand with Israel – America and Israel are two nations inextricably bound. In the Bible, God says he will bless the people who bless Israel. Of all nations, the United States has been uniquely blessed. If we want the blessings to continue, we must be mindful of their source.
20. Oppose Urban Anarchy – If you listen closely, you can hear the sound of marching jackboots in mob action in our once-great cities. Urban anarchy isn’t just an offense against life and property, but a threat to our national survival. The elites that subtly support it deserve more than scorn.
21. Acknowledge America’s debt to the President — He’s appointed judges who abide by the Constitution and deployed agents to protect federal property (including monuments) from rioters. He’s working to defend the border. He has an America-first foreign policy. Unlike some of his predecessors, he understands that he was elected president of the United States and not president of the world.
You don’t need a Super-PAC or a foundation to do any of the foregoing. You can constitute yourself a Committee of One to Help Save America. The next three months won’t decide just the outcome of an election, but the future of a republic.