I have mixed feelings about patriotism; I think too often it promotes valuing one human life over another or one group of people over another. American media coverage would have us believe that a natural disaster or civilians killed in a war overseas is somehow less tragic than stateside disasters or American soldiers killed in war, to give just two examples. I’m not trying to minimize the tragedy of the latter, I just believe that God mourns for each life lost regardless of country of origin and we should too.
That said, I think there are positive aspects of patriotism – for example, trying to better your country because you believe in Jesus’ command to love your neighbor as yourself (although not necessarily stopping at the borders), and being grateful for the opportunities our country has afforded us. And so I was touched when, this past Saturday, I stood next to a 13-year-old Liberian refugee at the UVA football game and listened to him sing along to our National Anthem. In a day and age when many can’t be bothered to remove their hat, place their hand over their heart, or sing much less be quiet and stand at attention, I was reminded how much many of us take for granted, from clean drinking water to reliable infrastructure to public education to individual freedoms to public safety and on an on.
I recounted this event to my roommate and he said only partially tongue-in-cheek, “I wish our country had more immigrants and less American-born people.” Indeed, as many of you who have gone on foreign missions trips can attest, it is usually the least wealthy people in the world who are the most generous with what they have. I don’t know all of the details of this child’s life before he came to the United States, but I have heard one of his fellow Liberian refugees, one year older than him, talk about the civil war that raged in their home country and how children were forced into fighting. We see in the Bible but also know from experience that hardship and persecution make the blessings that
follow all the more sweet. And so, as I
listened to this adolescent boy, with right hand over his heart, sing the Star
Spangled Banner, I was truly proud to be an American.
