patriotic

I considered not doing a post over the holiday because few people would be on blogs. I probably will be in a posting lull later in the month when we are visiting family, though, so it is probably worth adding something extra now. It is possible that some people will wish I didn't bother.

When 9/11 occurred I remember thinking that it was a bit convenient that patriotism was fashionable overnight. If patriotism was so important after the attacks, why wasn't it en vogue before? That was probably a bit cynical, but that was my honest first reaction.

I have always considered myself relatively patriotic. I knew which team to root for in the Olympics and military skirmishes. At least when I was growing up, it was easy to see the United States idealistically due to it's unique freedoms and the history behind those freedoms.

I am still very patriotic, but with reservations. It has little to do with current politics. I love the United States because, for all its problems, it is a better place to live than pretty much anywhere else. Also, the country has to be doing something right to tick off Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong-il, Omar al-Bashir, et al. (Yes, I had to verify the spelling of Castro's name.)

Even if I like the United States I have to admit that the country is, and always has been, far from perfect. Again, this has little to do with my political opinions. This is because every country is run by imperfect people with imperfect purposes. I am not supposed to try to get heaven on earth anyway, so this should not be too much of a disappointment.

The question I have over the Independence Day holiday is how patriotic should a person, especially a Christian, be about the nation in which he or she lives. Is it wrong to feel a sense of loyalty to a fallible country? Is it wrong to go too far the other way and have no loyalty to a country which provides you with so much freedom? Where is the perfect, or at least proper, balance?