Educate yourself and others about your country

Being personally well informed is never a bad thing. But I think the concept of “educating” others implies a bit of arrogance. I am of the opinion that actions are going to speak much louder than words in convincing someone - especially when traveling in another country - that you are not the proverbial “Ugly American”. And tossing in a healthy amount of humility to temper any over abundance of pride (patriotic or otherwise) isn’t usually a bad idea either.

Not a bad idea, for the self improvement aspects alone. Try to go beyond just listening to the Alan Jackson songbook as your source material though.

a good idea in theory but what is the source of the education...please, no public history texts

Education regarding our country and what it stands for is no longer a major topic or assignment in the schools. Sex education in an abhorrent way seems more important. The win over the debate that we come from animals is more important. Students who graduate have no idea where we come from as a nation and no clue of where we are heading. It's a total civic apathy. Our children are becoming experts in video games, on how to use a condom, of where to get an abortion, on the gays and lesbians agenda, on the major sports and movie stars. But they don't even know how to sing the National Anthem or recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Education is no longer a school matter. We either take it on our own as parents, or we lose the next generation.

Educate "others"?. . .that makes the quote a mixed bag at best. . .not approaching history objectively usually means flag-waving at the expense of certain historical realities and crimes. . .incessant negative-and-attacking historical accounts don't help much either. . ."the true historian has no country" - just teach history and leave national, theological, and personal dogma at home. . .

The education in this country is spiraling so quickly downward, that we must all do what we can to help others learn. This is the most important point on the list.

"Educate" is a relative term. Teaching young people to be ashamed of their country, that America is/ was to blame for this or that, a laundry list of guilt trips, etc., may fall under the definition of education to some...but this is certainly not patriotic.

Arm yourself with knowledge, friend. Also, teach your children.

I don't think you're unpatriotic if you don't educate yourself, but if you don't have any idea of what the United States is all about, how could you justify your patriotism. This should be mandatory for anyone entering this country!

My political and social views are defined by a couple of very central premises. I have written extensively on politics, but my beliefs are informed by certain traits that motivate my normative observations of the world. At the end of the day, you can educate yourself about your country and your world, but each one of us will come to our own conclusions at the end of the day. Much can be said about our social world, therefore tolerance of belief in the best way to go. But that said, there are a few things that motivate my political belief system. First off, government is inherently incompetent, and if left to its own devises will perform a task in the most inefficient and expensive way possible. Secondly, building from the first point, government is inherently corrupt, thus heightening its inefficiency. Thirdly, relying on the mass media for your information about the community will, ironically enough leave you more ignorant than before. Fourthly, contrary to popular belief, we are not ... Read more

Very important and patriotic. For example, the mainstream American media is ignoring the memo that was recently exposed that detailed that Bush had already declared the US was going to overthrow Saddam in July 2002. He made it clear that the intelligence would need to be fixed in order to conform to the policy. All this, before even consulting the Congress!

i will. when i move to Europe after the novel is published, i plan on telling people EXACTLY what this country is about.

One thing Americans need to do more of is learn about their country and current events. Without knowledge of what is going on, it is impossible to make educated decisions. Americans are blinded by their general ignorance (no offense). Face it: do you think most people really know what is going on in Iraq and how the world as a whole views us? Many Americans say things such as We're the best because we want freedom. The rest of the world doesn't view us that way. In other countries the people know more about their government's policies than those in America do. Blindly following a leader is one mistake Americans cannot make again.

This is so critical! Practically no foreign policy history is taught in public school and most Americans have only a vague idea about how each branch of the federal government works. What is even more important is to teach the facts about consequences of American forgien and domestic policy in the past 100 years. How can we proclaim patriotism for own country and have such a limited knowledge of what makes America a great country to start with? Patriotism is not slapping a flag bumper-sticker on your pick-up and blaring Toby Keith songs. Patriotism is about educating yourself about your country to the best of your ability and making informed, level-headed choices when you head to the polls. A true patriot in my book is someone seeking knowledge about his/her country and votes and participates in politics (even if that means going to war if that is what one really belives) on the premise of making our country the best it can be. Ignorance gets us nowhere. True patriotism must go... Read more

Educating oneself is always a good thing. Educating others is the challenge. You can lead people to solid, reasoned information but you can't make them read or listen. Sometimes it is difficult to know where to begin.

Good point.

Educate yourself, yes. Educate others? No, that's their responsibility, regardless of their patriotism. Each of us is responsible for our own education level, unless we're teachers. They seem to have no responsibility at all to patriotism anymore.

History can teach us a lot about what has worked and what has not. Never forget....