Column: What is patriotism?

Being a real patriot these days takes true grit, like the United States Marine Corps motto "Semper Fidelis," the latin translation of "always faithful."

Authentic patriotism just doesn't seem to fit the modern political narrative.

Americans tend to wave patriotism casually around like a flag or wear it as a comfortable shirt. The media is saturated with patriotic images and messages promoted by popular culture through entertainment, news, marketing and advertising.

Some people — left, right and center — even use patriotism against one another as a weapon, liberally accusing others of being false patriots in order to win arguments or cast others in a negative light.

We wield patriotism today like a political football. Whoever is on offense at the moment is the patriot, and whoever takes up defense isn't.

But this is neither what patriotism is nor how it works.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines patriotism as "love for or devotion to one's country."

What does this really mean, though, to love something so much that one remains wholly devoted to it?

Love and devotion are actually synonyms of one another. Both require loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity and dedication to something or someone.

And it's whole; not partial, not mostly, but all.

I don't see how a person can realistically love partially or even mostly, giving only a part of their heart and calling that devotion. Either you are all in, or you are not.

These are unconditional virtues, given freely regardless of whether or not there is any reciprocation. One cannot truly give love or devotion with strings attached.

Like love and devotion, patriotism is also whole. There is no litmus test. Either you are all in, or you aren't.

Do you still value your country's principles when its representative government lawfully acts or fails to act in ways you consider unreasonable? Or, do you blame these same principles for allowing bad things to happen?

Are you willing to stick by your nation when things aren't going your way, or will you threaten to leave it?

When a murderer is acquitted in a court of law and walks free after receiving due process, do you still love your country enough to remain devoted to its founding principle of innocent until proven guilty?

I recall a disagreement I had with someone last year about Peter Cvjetanovic, the University of Nevada, Reno student who marched in a white nationalist rally on the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville, VA.

We both agreed that Cvjetanovic's views appeared extreme and unjust. But we parted ways when I insisted that he had the right to his views, to participate and express himself without fear of government retaliation.

I find Colin Kaepernick's method of protest disrespectful. But he does have the right to speak in that way and be free from government coercion.

Freedom of speech is the same for you, me, and even those who offend us.

There are no asterisks in the Bill of Rights denoting that our freedoms are only for those we think are agreeable or reasonable to us. Devotion to one's country is to love it despite the fact that it protects people we may find offensive.

The Bill of Rights is not applied as an umbrella. We do not get to cherry-pick who amongst us is sheltered under it and who is not. That's not how love works.

America's founding principles, rather, are applied as a blanket covering us all. Personally, I am comforted by the fact that the First Amendment protects me, so that I may write this column.

Patriotism isn't defined by the colors you wear or what you wave in the breeze. It's determined by what you do.

Do you live in such a way as to show value for the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of those around you? Are you willing to defend the right of someone you disagree with to continue being disagreeable? Do you still love what America stands for despite sometimes not feeling that love yourself?

Being a patriot is not easy, requiring much deeper devotion than wearing red, white and blue on holidays.

Patriotism can actually be a lot like trying to love family that's just not very lovable. No matter how irritating they can be, how disappointing their behavior, how self-serving their actions, you still love them. You remain devoted to them.

We have to be willing to stand up for one another in spite of our differences, our divisions, and our disagreements. This means looking out for each other, being considerate of the other person, and speaking or acting on their behalf when freedom is threatened.

I'm not so sure Americans today are ready to do that. The nation is caught in a struggle pitted, ironically, against apolitical indifference and bitterly polarized ideologies; both of which threaten to leave the principle of liberty in tatters.

Until we are willing to put the country before ourselves and ahead of our own pride, we cannot love it with the devotion that love requires. And unless that happens, patriotism is a just word to banter back and forth with; as insignificant as a beach ball tossed around in a crowd.

Benjamin Franklin, considered the wise sage of the Continental Congress in the days of the American Revolution, once remarked to his colleagues, "Gentlemen, we may as well hang together, because if we are caught, we will surely all hang separately."

Franklin's contemporaries were just as spirited and zealous in their ideologies as many are today. Nasty arguments, shouting matches and name-calling were all part of the process of forming an independent nation. Many of the founders were often not on the same page.

But they were all on the same team. And, in the end, they buried the hatchet, putting aside their differences to breathe life into the country we are part of today.

Do we have the devotion it takes to love what America stands for despite mistakes made by her people, and in the face of our problems?

If you want to show love to someone, you don't bag on them for their mistakes. You acknowledge what went wrong and focus on the good that exists within them, helping them move forward through learning, growth and maturity.

In the same way, we must not treat America like the child who can't seem to do anything right in our eyes. Her people have made mistakes, and they are going to make mistakes.

But instead of bagging on America for what goes wrong, we would be wise to focus more on what is good about her and use those virtues as strengths to overcome weaknesses.

There are some things that need fixing in our country. But there are many others worth honoring and celebrating.

America has come a long way in 242 years. Respect that.

When America stumbles and takes a step back, don't push her further down the stairs to shame her. Extend your hand and help her up the next step.

That's what love of and devotion to country would do.