It’s more than the flag being unfurled and whipping about in the wind. It’s more than the land itself. It’s more than the people. It’s all those and more. It’s a deep feeling of pride in each of us that stirs a deep love for America. Patriotism either causes our eyes to glow with emotion or burn with indignation of our country wronged in some way.
 
It’s Washington leading his men across an icy Delaware to surprise the British at Trenton, New Jersey. It is the American flag waving defiantly over Fort McHenry after the British fleet had bombarded the defenses all night. It is the surprise attack on the "Day of Infamy" at Pearl Harbor that left 2400 American servicemen dead. It is the six marines who raised the American Flag victoriously on Iwo Jima.
It is the retreat of U.S. armed forces in Korea, amidst a harsh winter, still fighting the enemy as they withdrew down the Korean peninsula: It is three firemen raising the flag at ground zero following the horrific attack on the two World Trade centers: It is our brave young men and women in Iraq today fighting to bring freedom to its people and to protect our own country from acts of terroism. Their unfailing bravery makes us all proud.
It is the ordinary man or woman waving the flag proudly during a holiday parade: It is the special feeling one gets when the national anthem is played before the start of a sporting event: It is the pleasure we get when we hear “God Bless, America” sung.
Just as the original colonies eventual grew into the United States, so have its people come together in unity in times of national crisis. May we always remember that God has blessed our great country and we should feel patriotism in just the mention of the United States of America.
 Gayl Wells and Greg Belcher
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