Don’t Try To Tell Me Otherwise

I am a patriotic American.

BECAUSE I AM —

• I believe life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are unalienable rights. For everyone.
• I believe all people are created equal, regardless of country of origin or citizenship, race, gender, color or creed.
• I honor the American flag and what it symbolizes. And because I do, I’ll fight for every U.S. citizen’s right to drape themselves in it, wear it on caps and T-shirts, put it on pottery and, in the extreme, burn it in protest if they feel they must.
• I will question the decisions, actions and inactions of our government, just as our nation’s founders did.
• I support veterans and military personnel. I am duty-bound to them, their families and our country to question the reasons they are sent into harm’s way.

Because I am a patriotic American —

• I’ll fight for every U.S. citizen’s right to peacefully protest injustices perpetrated upon ourselves and our fellow citizens.
• I have a responsibility to inform myself about candidates and issues and to vote in every election.
• I believe in majority rule. However, as a patriotic American, I will never believe for a millisecond that alignment with the majority automatically makes one right.

Because I am a patriotic American —

• I honor not just our country, but our country. That means I’ll do whatever I can to protect the quality of our air, lands and waterways, to leave them in pristine condition for my children and yours.
• I honor immigrants, from my great-great grandparents — immigrants themselves who helped build this nation — to people coming today in search of better lives. I wouldn’t be here without immigrants, and unless you’re Native American, neither would you.
• I believe we are obligated to honor treaties with native peoples, just as we do agreements with other sovereign nations.
• I believe in every person’s right to better themselves, as long as their actions do not cut down, misrepresent or swindle someone else.
• I take pride in being a member of an honorable nation. And to me that means treating other nations and their peoples with the same respect we expect.
• I believe in a clear and uncompromised separation of church and state.
• I acknowledge every U.S. citizen’s right to formulate, hold and propagate opinions, and every other U.S. citizen’s right to agree, disagree or ignore them.

I am a patriotic American, and because I am, I’m confident in my right to hold these beliefs. I trust in my Constitutional rights to think, say and write about them without fear of reprisal from my government.

Because I am a patriotic American, I acknowledge your right to your views and definitions of patriotism, even when we disagree. And I expect you to acknowledge mine.

I am a patriotic American, and because I am, I celebrate Independence Day every July 4. I honor the courageous patriots who questioned their government, who defied it in a bold declaration, and who fought for the rights so many U.S. citizens now enjoy.