I occasionally drive down one particular street in Hillsboro. To my right is a house with six American flags in an otherwise tastefully landscaped front yard. My use of \u201cotherwise\u201d implies I think the six flags are excessive. I think one would do just fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m sure the homeowner feels very patriotic. My question is, \u201cHow many flags make you a patriot?\u201d I\u2019ve never been a \u201cpublic display\u201d patriot. One flag hanging on our house has been \u201cshow\u201d enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As I consider the six-flag display, I ask my question and come up with a surprising, and perhaps even controversial, answer: No flag makes me a patriot<\/em>. It\u2019s how I act on behalf of patriotic values<\/em> that correctly identifies me as a patriot!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The flag is a helpful reminder of patriotic work, but it mustn\u2019t substitute for the ongoing, relentless need to work for Democracy. Which brings me to the upcoming 250th<\/sup> Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in Washington, D.C. Cage-fighting at the White House, really? Don\u2019t get me started on \u201cthe ballroom\u201d, the Lincoln reflecting pool, his \u201cArch de Nauseous\u201d project, and the $250 banknote with a menacing portrait of Trump! Projects and pronouncements leading up to July 4 and beyond, like a Grand Prix race around the Washington Monument?<\/p>\n\n\n\n All these test my resolve to be a civil patriot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I recognize many people are enthralled with much of what our current president does and proposes. I\u2019m definitely not one of those people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I use that word \u201centhralled\u201d purposely. It means someone or something \u201cfascinates me, holds me spellbound\u201d. That\u2019s one way to describe fanatic followers of Mr. Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I recently saw Nicolle Wallace\u2019s \u201cBest People\u201d interview with documentarian Ken Burns. At one point, he quoted part of Abraham Lincoln\u2019s second Annual Message to Congress from Dec. 1, 1862. It was one month before Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe can succeed only by concert. It is not \u2018can\u00a0any\u00a0of us\u00a0imagine\u00a0better?\u2019 but, \u2018can we\u00a0all\u00a0do better?\u2019\u2026The [civil war] occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.<\/strong>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I was enthralled by Lincoln\u2019s caution that we \u201cmust disenthrall ourselves…\u201d to save the country. Did you know \u2018disenthrall\u2019 means to set free from bondage, slavery, or a controlling influence? <\/em>Wow!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Being disenthralled means freedom from an obsession, freedom from being enchanted by something\/someone, freedom from a misconception or false belief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I share this out of deep concern for extremist believers on all sides. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n An enthralled patriot who either hugs a flag or burns a flag needs to be disenthralled from their potentially political and emotional slavery to toxic political correctness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I seriously suggest that \u201centhralled\u201d patriots may need to be \u201cdisenthralled\u201d. They need to recover from any patriotic blindness that does not act out values that reflect the best patriotism our history calls us to embody. When obsessed by an idea or a person, we can become enslaved by that idea and\/or person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many of us believe Trump\u2019s presidency is seriously dangerous. Many others believe his presidency is our country\u2019s salvation. It\u2019s likely we all need to be disenthralled of superficial patriotism \u2013 so together, we can find new ways to heal, and save, our country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Please don\u2019t show me your flags. Show me how you mean to heal our democracy!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" True patriotism isn’t measured by flags displayed but by actions taken on behalf of democratic values. Drawing on Lincoln’s 1862 call to “disenthrall ourselves,” Rev. Paul Graves challenges both Trump supporters and opponents to break free from political obsession and superficial patriotism. Real healing begins not with symbols, but with the hard, ongoing work of democracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":24869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[92,74,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-church-society","category-opinioneditorial","category-pacific-northwest-conference"],"yoast_head":"\n
Personally, I shudder as I anticipate the vanity-driven expressions of \u201cpatriotism\u201d that will come on Trump\u2019s June 14 birthday bash. Maybe he\u2019ll hug the American flag as he’s done often before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n