Patriotism is your conviction that this country is superior to all other countries because you were born in it.
– George Bernard Shaw
I left the United States for the first time in 2000 to spend two years in Sao Paulo, Brazil doing Missionary service for my church. To take you back, this was before the average American even knew what a Muslim was and before Osama Bin Laden was a household name.
When I returned in August of 2002, something had drastically changed about my country. Flags flew on many more houses that usual. There were flags everywhere! Some enterprising guy had also created a novel American Flag lapel pin which everyone seemed to be sporting. People had somehow become much more proud of their country than I’d ever seen them, and more willing to do anything for it.
Then it dawned on me. I totally missed 9/11. Continue reading Patriotism