<< Back 7/3/02 Patriotism is about making the country better Cristina Reitz Someone once said that if you love something, you will criticize it. At first this seemed to make little sense. After all, if you love something, shouldn’t you support it at all costs? But then I got to thinking. Good parents criticize their children in order to help them grow into likeable, productive members of society; good friends tell each other when they’re out of line; and good business associates offer constructive criticism for the benefit of the company. In the wake of Sept. 11, I have seen people rally to support anything the government proposes, and I have seen people so disgusted by its actions — past and present — that they refuse to take part in government at all anymore. Neither of these approaches is beneficial to America and neither of these is patriotic. Patriotism is not blindly following the leaders of this country, nor is it complaining to friends and family about a policy you disagree with. Patriotism is seeing what you can do to make your country a better place, and sometimes that means criticizing it. America has done many wonderful and shameful things in its short history. As Americans, our duty is to encourage our leaders on the path to wonderful and let them know when we think they’re leading us down the road to shame. I think the most important — and simplest — demonstration of patriotism is to take the time to vote. How can we presume to complain or take pride in something if we did absolutely nothing for or against it? So, this 4th of July, I encourage you to register to vote. I encourage you to make a commitment to become, if not involved, at least aware of what the government is doing. Write a letter of support or dissent to your local representative, the governor or even the president, because exercising our rights is a greater show of patriotism than all the fireworks in the world. (Reitz is an intern at The Smoky Mountain News who attends the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.)