What Is Patriotism
Francis Duggan
What is patriotism you are asking me
Though with the answer I give you perhaps you may not agree
With what on patriotism I do have to say
You win some and lose some life can be that way,
The meaning of patriotism I struggle to understand
But I know it goes further than love of Homeland
Or fighting under your Homeland's flag far from your Homeshore
Aggression and patriotism are different on that need one say more
Of their Nation's military might and sporting heroes so called patriots brag
But there's more to patriotism than the love of a flag
True patriots love their Homeland and people and good will with all races share
And true patriots sad to say as always are rare
And true patriots it does seem of prejudices free
And they seem very different to the likes of you and me.
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Edgar Guest
There is no star within the flag
That's brighter than its brothers,
And when of Michigan I brag,
I'm boasting of the others.
Just which is which no man can say —
One star for every state
Gleams brightly on our flag today,
And every one is great.
The stars that gem the skies at night
May differ in degree,
And some are pale and some are bright,
But in our flag we see
A sky of blue wherein the stars
Are equal in design;
Each has the radiance of Mars
And all are yours and mine.
The glory that is Michigan's
Is Colorado's too;
The same sky Minnesota spans,
The same sun warms it through;
And all are one beneath the flag,
A common hope is ours;
Our country is the mountain crag,
The valley and its flowers.
The land we love lies far away
As well as close at hand;
He has no vision who would say:
This state's my native land.
Though sweet the charms he knows the best,
Deep down within his heart
The farthest east, the farthest west
Of him must be a part.
There is no star within the flag
That's brighter than its brothers;
So when of Michigan I brag
I'm boasting of the others.
We share alike one purpose true;
One common end awaits;
We must in all we dream or do
Remain United States.
To me, "The States" is talking about unity and strength in numbers. It emphasizes the idea that no one man is above a group.
ReplyDeletecommenting on the first poem i feel the poet hit the nail on the head. patriotism is just as rare as love and not every1 will be able to fully embrace it as they should. the poet also goes to say that the amount of tru "patriots" are rare and they are dramatically different than you and me
ReplyDeleteOn the poem about patriotism, I agree with what its saying. Patriotism isn't just being able to say your from somewhere, you have to be able to show it through your actions. Like love, patriotism is hard to find because now a days here in the US we don't see patriotic people anymore... if we were to see someone with a shirt with an American flag printed on it... we would think of them as wired because we don't see that normally. We would only probably were something like that if it was in a sports game or something. I guess these are the different people described in this poem... people different form you and me like Chevar said...
ReplyDelete[Comment "What is Patriotism?"]
ReplyDeleteI feel like this poem talks about the very same discussion we had in class about what is a patriot, and truthfully I think this poem gives a very good definition.
The poet writes first of all the things people usually associate with patriotism but makes a very distinct suggestion that patriotism has nothing to do with aggression and then goes on to say what a real patriot is.
For the first poem, i think it captures how i feel about patriotism perfectly.
ReplyDelete"With what on patriotism I do have to say
You win some and lose some life can be that way,
The meaning of patriotism I struggle to understand
But I know it goes further than love of Homeland
Or fighting under your Homeland's flag far from your Homeshore
Aggression and patriotism are different on that need one say more
Of their Nation's military might and sporting heroes so called patriots brag
But there's more to patriotism than the love of a flag
Aggressive flag wearers make me ashamed because to me, thats not being patriotic, its borderline practicing idolatry. Patriotism is so much more than a flag or someegocentric view of you and your "amaaazzinggg" country.