Am I a Patriot? Am I a Person of Faith?

When did the Democrats allow the Republican party to co-opt the word ‘patriot?” They didn’t let them; they just took it and owned it. When did the Democrats allow the Republican party to co-opt faith? They didn’t let them; they just took it and owned it.

Let’s look at patriot.

We all know what the textbook definition is. But the Republicans took ownership of that word, especially since 2016, asserting if one did not eschew their views, was not a patriot or a ‘real’ American. Again, they ‘took it’ while Democrats wrung their hands trying to find a cohesive message but worried about the word, patriot,’ as it might signal a hawkish conservative voice when it was always a simple word to want the best for the country, even if our views were radically different.

No moral, value-laden person wants the worst but those that do, certainly made it clear in November. It was not “just be a good American,” but be the ‘right’ kind of American; meaning believe what they believe in.

Let’s look at faith.

While the separation of church and state is still an important ideal in our country, there is nothing wrong with using your value system, even if you are an atheist, to cement where you stand on important issues. It Is not necessarily religion, but a belief system of fairness and morality.

The late Senator and presidential candidate Barry Goldwater, an icon of a long-gone conservative movement said: “Mark my word, if and when these preachers get control of the [Republican] party, and they're sure trying to do so, it's going to be a terrible damn problem. Frankly, these people frighten me. Politics and governing demand compromise. But these people believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise. I know, I've tried to deal with them.”

It appears our government and our citizens tell us that to be a moral person, we have to believe in the things they believe in.

Case in point: House Speaker Mike Johnson, interviewed on Fox News said when asked how he would make public policy, he replied: “Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. That’s my worldview.” Johnson is in fact a believer in scriptural originalism, the view that the Bible is the truth and the sole legitimate source for public policy.

He added: “You know, we don’t live in a ‘democracy’ but a “biblical” republic.” He is ‘trumpeting’ the religious right in its holy war to turn the US government into a theocracy as we are seeing.

I am a patriot. I am a person of value and faith and the only one who can affix that label to me is myself.