This I Believe

I believe in patriotism. I believe in learning the history of your country and in being overwhelmed with pride when you look at your nation’s flag. It’s the way I feel every time I see the stars and stripes, every time I recite the Pledge of Allegiance, every time I listen to the poetry and power of the national anthem.
Thinking about patriotism, I am reminded of stories about WWII America, where kids collected scrap metal and women became nurses to support the war effort. Men like my own great-grandfather were sent to Europe or the Philippines to defend our freedom at home. I remember hearing about how the country banded together when John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King were assassinated. And I can clearly recollect my own personal experiences on September 11, 2001.
Being in 4th grade, my political and world knowledge was slim at the time. But I could see the tears in my mother’s anxious eyes, telling me to keep watching the news. The screen remained fixed on an image of two identical skyscrapers, burning. And, ashes to ashes, they all fell down. I didn’t understand. Sometimes, I feel like I still don’t.
Now, at almost 18 years old, my political beliefs and opinions on the world have molded into something I am proud of. But besides that, I firmly believe that our nation can sometimes be too focused on red and blue states. If American citizens could only put themselves back to the mindset that they had on “the day after”, September 12, 2001, we would no longer be worried about Democrats or Republicans. We would be one nation, united in our strength and our patriotism.