Important Child Lesson: Love of Country and Patriotism

I don't have kids as of yet, but plan to and I hope the day comes very soon. A couple things I know that will be instilled into my children are love of country and patriotism. Those two things are probably two of the biggest lessons that I can teach my children, that will not only help them to understand the freedoms that they have available in this country, but also make them appreciate and be proud of the fact that they are an American citizen.

It didn't take long for me to appreciate the country in which I lived. As far back as I can remember I always had a very strong love of country and showed my patriotism in any way I knew how. I also would never hide my feelings and always stood up for what I believed in, especially if I felt that someone was disrespecting this country in any way. My Grandfather also served on a B-24 Liberator in WWII and that personal family history ignited my patriotism fire even more. I would not let all the things he put his life on the line for be denounced without a fight. After all that is what being an American is all about; being able to freely express your thoughts and opinions without fear of repercussion. Of course when I was growing up the country was much different. Ronald Reagan was President, the Cold War was in full force, and the country overall was very united in their beliefs. A lot has changed since then.

I personally believe that, not only teenagers today, but also plenty of adults as well, have lost touch with how this country came to be and the important beliefs and rights that we are entitled too every day. It seems many people in this country have adopted the "Blame America First" mentality rather than looking at what our role really is in this world. We are the protectors of freedom and the destroyers of tyranny. It seems that it isn't getting taught to our kids. In our schools the Pledge of Allegiance isn't practice anymore, and I have watched first hand as kids did not stand at attention and show respect for our National Anthem. These things, among many others, are directly attributing to how our kids view this country today.

With all of these obstacles working against me I got to wondering how was I possibly going to teach my future kids about patriotism, and how to love the country in which they were born. After much thought and a little research I came up with a few:

History: I will teach my kids as much American history that I can think of, especially the important points such as the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and also about the founding fathers and the reasons that they decided to form their own government and why they felt it was necessary. I will also use our family history as a big tool in order to teach my kids about "The Greatest Generation", and all the other sacrifices people like their Great Grandfather, and many other servicemen, gave for our country as well as how those sacrifices helped to protect and free other countries and people.

Movies and Television: This also directly relates to history, but movies and television are a great way to teach kids about love of country and the sacrifices our servicemen make. Band of Brother's from HBO Productions was an awesome factual depiction of WWII and what those particular gentlemen had to do in order to preserve the freedoms we Americans enjoy every day. It is also an excellent visual way to keep kids interested in learning about history and appreciating what men and women did in order to keep our country free, as well as showing them the things free men will do in order for other countries and their people to experience freedom as well.

Music: Music is another excellent way to teach kids about patriotism and love of country. There are numerous songs out there, across all genres of music, which consist of important patriotic messages. Music is an excellent tool, to teach even the young adults, and provide them with an outlet for patriotism that they can relate to.

Remembrance: Remembrance of those particular sacrifices can be an excellent way to show our children visually what our country has done to become what it is today. Remembrance can cover many different things. Those include visiting national cemeteries, Civil War battlegrounds, or local memorials for fallen heroes. It is these visual lessons that will bring home the reality of the different events and will make the kids respect them that much more.

There are many smaller things, and little tidbits, that can be done to help our children learn love of country and patriotism. I feel that the ones listed above will have the best chance of actually reaching my kids, and conveying the passion that I feel for this country to them. We need to remind our children every day what it means to be an American, and use every opportunity we can to show our children how much freedom they have in this country.

If all of us put our minds to it, we can bring back that magical American spirit that was so abundant in the 80's, and right after 9/11, and make how Americans felt then how they feel about this country every day. Our children will be the direct beneficiaries from it and pass on that pride, patriotism, and love of country to future generations.