What does being a patriot mean to you?
***This is post 2 of 2 exploring the title and subtitle of my forthcoming book. Click here to read part 1, “What Does It Mean to Be ‘One Nation Under God’?”
As I mention in the introduction to my forthcoming book, I was raised in a patriotic military family.
However, politics were never discussed in my household. In fact, I don’t even know if anyone in my family ever voted. So I certainly don’t know who they voted for, if they voted at all. At least in my home, patriotism and politics weren’t conflated. Thus, I grew up loving America without having any political affiliation or much interest in politics. To me, politics was just background noise. And today, I admit I still feel that way much of the time.
Though I haven’t been able to identify when or why it happened, at some point in our modern history, calling oneself a “patriot” seemed to became problematic. For instance, in June 2025, a poll indicated that only 58 percent of US citizens say they’re “extremely” or “very” proud to be American, the lowest percentage ever recorded.
The reasons for this decline are too numerous to delve into here. Instead, I’ll share the reason I’m a patriot, which is simple and personal: Outside of the United States of America, I highly doubt my life could be as blessed as it is. And to me, patriots are people who love their country and want all of its citizens to have the opportunity to live in peace and prosperity.
I asked my newsletter subscribers and some friends to tell me what being a patriot means to them. Scroll past the picture of me in my polyester sailor outfit to read the wonderful and diverse responses I received.
Do I love America? Absolutely! Do I love everything about it and everything it does as a nation? Absolutely not. No nation has ever been or ever will be perfect. We live in a sinful, fallen world run by sinful, fallen people. Regardless, we’re blessed to have One who rules over all the nations, and one day, He’ll come again to make all things new!
Until that day, may we cling to the freedoms we have—especially to worship our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and to share His good news with all.
In His love,
Amanda
xoxo
I was an American Legionette drill team member throughout my childhood. I still miss my jellies!
As a naturalized immigrant citizen, being a patriot is a gift from above. It’s a privilege to be able to see and discern that this country we live in is worth loving, working for, defending and dying for. —R. B.
I have always supported our troops. I wrote letters during Vietnam to soldiers and during Desert Storm. Then in Desert Storm, sending letters or packages became dangerous, and they didn’t want soldiers getting letters or packages from someone they didn’t know because of the threat of anthrax or worse.
Then a plan was developed by a friend whose son was a medic. He was allowed to send him packages if the box or letter had a code word on it. Then the soldier knew it was safe. I asked to help, and so did many others. We sent boxes every week using the code word from California, Arizona, and Indiana. So many boxes started coming in, David couldn’t take the time to distribute them. So his commander took over. It was so amazing to reach the goal of everyone in a unit getting a box.
From there, I moved to Washington State and got involved with Washington Operation Thank You. We sent boxes every seven weeks to everyone we knew or were told about out of the country. We also did welcome home events at the local airport and had all ages and branches of the armed forces there, with flags to welcome them home.
This December will be my second time to help place wreaths on graves of our veterans for Christmas with Wreaths Across America.
Now in Tennessee, I am looking at something to volunteer to support local troops.
So my definition is: Patriots take action! They are someone who not only loves and supports their country but also honors and gives back to those who have served it—past, present and future. True patriotism is shown through volunteering, supporting veterans, and helping strengthen the community that defends our freedom. —A. M.
A patriot loves our country despite its flaws. A patriot learns from past, present, and future flaws. A patriot prays for those flaws. —S. H.
Being a patriot means being a good citizen, with love and loyalty to God and country. —K. M.
Fearlessly loving and supporting this great country provided to us by God, to live out His plans and purpose. —N. B.
True patriotism isn’t sentimental—it’s ethical. To love a country is to hold it accountable to its own highest ideals of justice, equality, and liberty. Real patriots don’t stay silent; they insist their nation live up to its promises. As James Baldwin wrote, “I love America more than any other country in the world, and exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” —T. R.
I believe that being a patriot means loving America with enduring gratitude for its Christian founders who fought for our true freedom, which comes from God alone. It means praying ceaselessly for our leaders and people, and being willing to actively participate in preserving our God-given freedom by voting, serving, and speaking truth in love. —H. G.
To me, being a patriot is having the honor and privilege to freely think, voice, and demonstrate my beliefs, both politically and spiritually. Being patriotic means respecting one another despite our differences. It is a privilege to be an American patriot because we are blessed with free speech, the freedom to love and to live and to worship freely. For me, patriotism equates to freedom, and I am so grateful to God for that blessing. —K. G.
For me, being a patriot is having pride in my country while trying to make it better by supporting our Constitution, which was formulated by God-fearing men who believed in biblical principles. —M. B.
I’ve honestly been fighting this fight since I was in fourth grade, when I landed in a school that said it didn’t have time for the pledge every morning. I was slowly starting to forget it. On a walk with my parents, my dad retaught me the Pledge of Allegiance. As we marched around the block, I swelled up with pride for our nation.
My mom wrote a “Rachel to Ross”–length letter to the school principal. And, from that day forward, we said the pledge. Not without heat though. One day, due to my bus being a little late, I slipped into class a bit tardy. My teacher saw me and scolded me to hurry: “You’re the reason we have to say this thing every day!”
She wasn’t expecting the lesson I taught the class that day. I dropped everything. Stood firm. Placed my hand on my heart. And boldly said the pledge, with a tear in my eye. I was not embarrassed, just sad that someone who was supposed to be a mentor and teacher was judging me for being brave. I was sad that my classmates wanted in on the unity, but didn’t have the support and didn’t know how to ask for it.
At nine years old, I remember taking a stand for our country, even when school administrators and teachers in West Texas didn’t think they had time for it.
Now, as a ninth-grade teacher, on a very patriotic campus, I am so grateful that I walk beside teachers and administrators who bravely and boldly put our country first. The Pledge of Allegiance is said every single day, along with our school motto: Learn the Truth; Do the Good; Love the Beautiful.
And that is truly the best part of my day. I see students rising without reminders. I see a spark in their eyes. I witness the solidarity of a generation ready spread the truth, do what is right—even when no one’s looking—and love the beauty of God’s creation and people. I’m proud to be their teacher. I’m proud to be an American! ❣️🤍💙 —M. G.
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