Patriotism

Main Entry: pa·tri·ot·ism
Pronunciation: \ˈpā-trē-ə-ˌti-zəm, chiefly British ˈpa-\
Function: noun
Date: circa 1726
: love for or devotion to one's country

Over the past few weeks/months, there has been a decent amount of chatter about Obama's patriotism. He doesn't always wear an American flag pin. He forgot to put his hand over his heart during the Star-Spangled Banner, or something to that effect. His wife made some comments that were misconstrued and made her seem unpatriotic.

If patriotism means "love for or devotion to one's country", I don't see how anybody can question Obama's patriotism, or any of the major presidential candidates for that matter. Obama has two young children who he's had to miss out on a great portion of being a father because of his service as a state Senator in Illinois and his time in the U.S. Senate. This campaign has been no different. If a person is willing to put their entire life on hold and sacrifice so much because they want to do all that they can to make this country better, how could you possibly call into question his patriotism?

Anyone can wave an American flag or slap a "Support the Troops" sticker on their car, but how patriotic is this really? If one is to make the accusation that Obama is unpatriotic, I can only say that they must foster a very shallow, superficial definition of patriotism. Wearing pins and displaying flags is one thing, but this seems like the bare minimum for most of us. If you've shown such a high level of commitment and a long record of service to this country, I don't think you need an American flag pin to show that you're patriotic. Anyone who is willing to run for office and take so much criticism and put so much on the line seems like they're showing some love for their country. But maybe that's just me.