Categories
Right Angle

Personal Patriotism: What’s the Most Patriotic Thing You’ve Ever Done?

Stephen Green, Scott Ott and Bill Whittle struggle to answer and long to hear yours.

Personal Patriotism: What's the Most Patriotic Thing You've Ever Done?

Answer this one question, if you can: What’s the most patriotic thing you’ve ever done? Stephen Green, Scott Ott and Bill Whittle struggle to answer and long to hear yours. Use the comments below.

Right Angle is a production of our Members, who run their own blog, forums and vigorous conversation in our comments. To join, click the big green button above. If you’d like to donate — instead of, or in addition to, joining — click the big blue button to make a one-time or recurring contribution with PayPal or credit card.

Listen to the Audio Version

58 replies on “Personal Patriotism: What’s the Most Patriotic Thing You’ve Ever Done?”

I was drafted into the US Army in July of 1970. Sent to Vietnam as a Door Gunner stationed in Phu Loi.
. I was fortunate and returned home safely and have lived safely in the US thanks to a great many patriots supporting and defending us.

Thank you for serving so gallantly. I loved the door gunners in the Hueys — they made jumping out of the helicopter possible.

As an Army Pilot I spent a year near the DMZ in South Korea back in 83. That was at the time of Korean Airlines 007 Shoot down. The DMZ is a hot little place without that but that rose temperatures up a degree or two. Our unit’s op orders were to be a speed pump to slow down a north Korean attack. we were to hold ground for 24 hours with 100% casualties. Later as a military advisor in Central America in 1985 we were expendable. No help was going to come from anywhere. It didn’t matter we were not doing it for the money.
30 years later after 2 of my sons having watched me battle the VA for their entire lives came to me and said “:Dad I have to do it”
It is a calling for many of us. You cannot explain it , you really cannot label it, but I suppose patriotisms probably comes the closest.

 I’m slightly older than the three of you. I joined the Navy at 17, but I really didn’t think of it as an excess of patriotism, it was just what one did after high school in the days of the draft. We grew up knowing we had this obligation to fulfill and had to choose how to fulfill it. As teenagers today might discuss what college they’re thinking of, we discussed which service we preferred. In addition, without parents or money I was like Richard Gere in ‘Officer and a Gentlemen’ I had no where else to go. 
 In that world almost everyone older had served or would volunteer whatever ailment prevented them from doing so. It is so hard to express what a different country this was before the left took control in the mid 60s. I say the world turned upside down in 1965. Richie Cunningham’s Happy Days on one side, Haight -Ashbury on the other. I joined the Navy in the first and got out in a different country. The draft could never work today because shame and disgrace have been eliminated as concepts. Would I have joined if the obligation didn’t exist? I really don’t know but I’m glad I did, it was only after 9/11 that being a veteran became a rather special thing. I’m proud to have done my part. 

amen, and amen. And a too long overdue thank you to you as well for your service and sacrifice.

Thank you, Steve for bringing this great question to our attention. Here are a few of the thoughts that you inspired in me regarding my small efforts at patriotism:
1) Praying daily for all of our service people and our government.
2) Swelling with pride when my husband stands along with other vets being honored at various events, also when he plays “Taps” at Memorial/Veterans Day activities.
3) Adopting and raising a son to be a Christian and to love his country.
4) Teaching students the geography, history and government of the United States and doing my best to instill pride in them and a recognition of how truly amazing and exceptional this nation really is and to be extremely grateful. Side note: I am profoundly ashamed of the teacher’s unions and those radical teachers who have done all they can to hurt the young people under their care.
5) Doing jury duty whenever called upon and not trying to squirm out of it.
6) Giving generously to veterans groups and other patriotic organizations.
7) Doing all I can in this day of Fake News to keep myself informed (including listening to Bill, Steve and Scott regularly) so that I can vote intelligently.

Joined the Marine Corps in 1977. My father was in the Army and taught me the virtues of patriotism. He also instilled Christian morals and values that guide me to this day. My kids were taught the history of our country built on honor and sacrifice (by me, not by the schools they went to) They recited the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the Star Spangled Banner, but more importantly they were taught why and what those words stand for.

I joined the Air Force at 22, a little older than most recruits. I don’t know how much patriotism was involved, but there was some, even if I little understood it. I knew that joining the military would be a significant change of life trajectory. After Basic Training I got orders sending me to language school and I learned Russian, eight hours a day, for almost year, back around the time Leonid Brezhnev died. After that was technical training for almost another year followed by SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) training that all aircrews go through.
While in language school we learned about the Soviet Union, like all Communist countries, a big prison no one was allowed to leave. Toward the end of SERE school all the trainees go through a a number of grueling challenges that culminate in a poignant reminder of just how precious are the freedoms we so often take for granted. I can’t say these experiences were the most patriotic thing I’ve ever done, but I think that at the end of SERE school was the first time in my life that I had a visceral awareness of what it was to experience true patriotism – a profound sense of gratitude for the founding principles of this country, and an almost transcendent affection for the unprecedented liberty and prosperity we have, and heartfelt pride at belonging to something greater than ourselves, a sense of being part of something significant.
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I think that was a pivotal moment that left a lasting mark on my life. The word “patriot” took on a greater reality than it ever had before and became an indelible part of the background for everything that followed. After SERE school my orders sent me overseas where I would go on to be an aircrew member, and had the privilege of working with an amazing group of people: Recon crew dogs – the most gifted, talented, dedicated, hard working, hard drinking, hard playing people I have ever seen gathered in one place, and I am almost astonished at being counted among them. I was lucky enough to fly almost three hundred missions with those people, including the one on which I re-enlisted at about 30,000 feet. The second time I held up my hand to take the oath of enlistment, administered by our aircraft commander, I think I at least had a clear idea of that being a patriot means.
Many of the folks I served with went on to military careers. I got out after 11 years. I will never think of those years as a sacrifice or a burden, but as a calling and a gift I was given and will always hold dear. And one thing about serving – the bonds built between those of us who served, and deployed, and toiled, and fought or flew together, will never dissolve.
This bond is powerful and lasting between people who knew each other personally, but it also extends, with less intensity but undeniable presence, to all others who served. When a veteran meets another veteran, there is almost always a subtle exchange of some sort of acknowledgement. It may be a smile, or a handshake, touching the bill of your baseball cap in salute, or an almost imperceptible nod, but it’s always there. We may cut up and make jokes about what made our branch of service stronger, or smarter, or more capable than the others, but let a civilian insult or threaten any veteran and we close ranks and have each other’s backs.
Does that make us patriots more than other people? I couldn’t say. Nor could I say that any of these events were “the most patriotic thing I ever did”, but I can say with certainty that those years of my life made me the patriot I am today, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

1) Raised a child who is a Christian Conservative.
2) Started a website (2020, start of Covid) to inform people about what was going on politically in Ohio and what we can do about it. Educated and motivated others.
3) Went maskless (exception: medical appointments) everywhere, even after our tyranno-Governor mandated it. I’m not usually one to buck authority but I felt it was wrong to comply. I was asked to leave some places and I did. I was only verbally attacked by one person and I defended myself in the same manner (which is SO unlike me normally). My Marine father (RIP) would have been ashamed of and angered by those who complied with tyranny thereby denigrating his service and his sacrifice (shot in the leg, limped thereafter).
Thank you to ALL who served in the military, or supporting them.

I had one of my essays teed up and mostly done here, then I deleted the whole thing. Because I realized something while I was processing those thoughts …

I did serve in the military. If you did not then there’s a gap between the way I see things and the way you do.

If you did not serve in the military there’s a gap between your experience and mine that’s pretty much impossible to bridge.

I don’t know what it would have been like to spend those years as a civilian. You don’t know what it would be like to spend those years in the military. If you think you do, you’re not thinking correctly.

I don’t fool myself that I can see things from a perspective other than the one I’ve lived. You should not do that either.

That doesn’t mean that either of us is more or less patriotic than the other. My sister never served in the military but she was the Data Base Administrator for a major defense contractor (I have some great stories about teasing her by calling her at work …). She did her job well and conscientiously because she knew the boys out there on the pointy end of the spear that would be relying on what she could send them.

She did this out of a profound sense of patriotism because the very best thing she could do for her country was a good job.

I realize I can’t judge the patriotism of others in whose places I have not stood.

I think the most patriotic thing you can do is to realize what an amazingly great nation we live in and not only do all you can to preserve this nation but keep it on the right path. So it stays a great nation and becomes an even better one.

What I can judge is the lack of patriotism of those who do the opposite.

I have a small mailing list. I forward urls of stuff I think is important, including: Bill and Steve and Scott,
truth about covid vaccines and their dangers,
how the US gov lies, and how mainstream media lies,
What you can do yourself to cure covid (Dr. McCulloch’s procedure),
Salty Cracker’s work – He’s no Walter Cronkite, but he’s honest.,
I’ve been banned from Hotmail for 2 weeks, and my emails are regularly edited or erased while I’m typing them, somehow (this via Firefox, somewhat better results via Brave). So someone thinks I’m a pest worth swatting. Not sure what to call all this, but it’s what I can do.

You three are as patriotic as any I’ve known. Your contributions to the dialog in defense of all that is American, is as valuable as any blood ever spilt. Take my word for it. I am a decorated veteran who has served his community as a volunteer as well as having served in the Armed Forces and been deployed in combat. Keep in mind that the threat from within today is greater than the threat to America presented by the Vietnam War in which I served. To arms, to arms! The enemy is inside the wire…

Exactly what I wanted to say, Jack. Thank you to all who are brave enough to tell the truth.
This proud American says Thank you to all who serve and have served.

The first thing that came to my mind was while being a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, flying the OH-6a, I heard a Mayday call and I went to the site. A Huey UH-1H had crashed and it was in dense foliage. There were no other helicopters small enough to get into the area to land, so it was up to me to extract the personnel from the downed helicopter. It was so tight that my blades were cutting the leaves from the surrounding trees. Since I was a single pilot, I had to land, get out of my helicopter and bring many of the men to my helicopter and fly them to the hospital. I made five extractions to get all the personnel out. There were eleven personnel that I extracted that day. April 1,1970. That was my defining moment.
My next thought was that we as Americans, who believe in and for the United States of America, do things every day that define us. Bill, Scott, Steve and Alfonso are prime examples of people who are patriotic and make a difference every time they post their videos
When we salute our flag, when we get out of our car to help an older person to cross a street, these are the acts of patriotism. Small, large and all the things we do in between, these are acts that help country, and to me, are patriotic acts.

I appreciate your thanks. I was with the 9th Division, and my unit was part of the Mobile Riverine Force in the Mekong Delta – a new and unique idea of melding the Navy and the Army together to accomplish a task. It worked.

I appreciate your thanks. I wasn’t the only one who served, and I know that many Americans supported us (I’ll never forget the can of homemade cookies from the “church ladies” that made it across the ocean).

I am still so sad at how you vets were “welcomed” back. What a shame! I am so grateful to you and your brothers.

You hit the nail on the head with that one. No Welcome Home. But time has healed those wounds. In Vietnam the “F word” was used constantly by everyone, and when I got home I worried that I would continue that bad habit and my Mother would glare at me at the dinner table and say, “Pass the WHAT butter???” Time has “healed” that habit as well.

Joined reserves while still in High School and after graduation went on active duty for 21 years.(because that is what we did back in the age) After military worked in VA for 22 years to help those who gave more than others.

Thank you for your service. Who knows the number of lives you saved and/or improved because of your patriotic duty to our country.

I don’t have anything much, but I can offer a couple of things. When 911 happened, I was living in Brussels, and had been living in Europe for getting on 30 years. Himself and I were out buying a freezer when we noticed it had gone quiet and looked at the TVs in the shop, showing the planes hitting. Well, I thought, I shall complete my purchase, as hysteria is not an option. We went home to two panicked adolescents. So the husband person and I calmed them down, made life normal. I went off and did the ironing, and as I cried, a plan formed: I had to go home to fight. I started trying to figure out how to get into the US with closed airspace and made a plan. I was scared to death but knew I would go if it came to it. (I come from a family of military types). It was when I knew, despite dual nationality, who I really was. I am an American. I am home now, and am proud of my husband and daughter in law immigrating and becoming US citizens. A second story is about my son. We spent a year in Minnesota where the husband was given a Fulbright Fellowship. I viewed it as time off for good behaviour. On the 4th, our town would put those little American flags along the main thru roads. We were driving and saw people stealing them. Young Hamish, in the 3rd grade, was mightily offended. I told him to tell someone, so he composed a letter to the local paper, and I sent it in uncorrected. He laid it out as only a child could. The local VFW gave him a special patriot award, and I have never been prouder of that boy. And he was so happy. That boy might have been born in Europe but he is American to his bones. I am sorry now that I didn’t stop and confront the people. But I think in some ways, it was better for Hamish to have his patriotism honoured than me having a go at crappy people. So it’s all good. Not great patriotism, but there you are.

Passing along Patriotism to the next generation is one of the most patriotic things you can do.

I didn’t start my 20-year active duty Army career feeling particularly patriotic – I was just an 18-year-old high school graduate who wanted to do something with my life other than work in a Detroit-area auto factory. As an Army Security Agency cook for one enlistment and then finishing my career as a bandsman, I never heard a shot fired in anger. However, I volunteered in 1982 — no, I insisted — to go to West Berlin, 110 miles behind the Iron Curtain, to serve there, spending almost 9 years in that city. It could’ve gotten ugly if the Soviets had mobilized their 25-odd combat divisions that surrounded the city, but that never happened. I’m pretty sure American strength and resolve had something to do with that. I am heartbroken to see a lack of same 40 years later, but I digress.
I was in the city when the Wall fell and the Reunification efforts that followed were humbling and significant. My service as a musician and as a translator meant much to me, but only in the sense that I was part of a team, a mere cog in the wheel. But my most vivid memory of a patriotic action that I was part of occurred during the 50th anniversary celebrations of first, the Allied landings in southern France (August 1994) at the American military cemetery near Draguignon and then a few weeks later, several celebrations in any number of eastern France villages. If you’ve never been to an American military cemetery in a foreign country, you don’t understand how much of an impact that will have on you. Every American needs to go at least once.

I also ‘loosely’ joined the Tea Party years ago, went to several local get-together-for-speaches…
But more recently, I sacrificed time and potential health to search out and drive to Barstow to hang out over the overpass to cheer on the People’s Convoy as they started out in S. California (they’ve now made it to Maryland, and are going to circle D.C. beltway). It was cold (for Calif) and very windy (so… my health), but we encouraged each other while waiting for the convoy by saying ‘not as cold as Canada’.
We waved our flags at cars and trucks below us, some honking horns, some doing the very American (while not very patriotic) middle finger out the window… btw, a fellow patriotic cheer’er was counting the ‘fingers’ as they passed!
I got to know the patriotic people around me, mostly from Barstow area (I came down from a little further North), we got to know a little about each other, mainly details about our otherwise mundane lives, but details that made us patriotic, that made us American, details about family, jobs, school, details they wanted to preserve, the American way.
Later, I spent the night at my sister’s, who has 2 boys: teen and 20’s. I described my day’s events to them, and they listened politely (not quite comprehending the significance of Aunt Grace’s patriotic fervor)…
But, the next morning, ‘war’ broke out in Ukraine, and that got their attention in a more visceral way… and they saw the patriotic fervor there… Maybe they’ll get a clue about America… how we also need to fight for our freedom, but fight in a different way.

Just a reminder to all those who didn’t serve, for whatever reason (medical, family obligations, too old, etc..) and wish to support our armed forces in a more tangible way:
Both the USAF and the USCG have civilian auxiliaries that perform critical missions. If you want to help out, the Civil Air Patrol and USCG Auxiliary could use a few good Americans.

a good reminder, for those who served, FREEDOM has a flavor the protected will never taste.

For the past 20 years, freedom’s tasted a lot like JP5 and diesel smoke… and maybe heads that need a lot more ventilation than Newport News shipyard saw fit to install.

thank you ever so much for your service to our nation. May GOD bless you and yours richly for your sacrifice.

I try not to consider myself a veteran. I served in the National Guard from ’70 to ’78. The powers that be never sent my unit to a war zone so I was never shot at nor have I fired a weapon in anger at anyone else. So, I don’t like to put myself on par with those brave souls who have because, whether by choice or not, thankfully I never had to prove I was worthy to stand by those who might just be much better men than I.

I am humbled when I consider the patriotism and bravery of our fighting soldiers.
PS: I so appreciate all you fellows do to awaken folks who may have become apathetic since we have all lived in relative comfort for so long. We need every one we can get to stand and raise their voices in these troubled times.

The patriotic thing I could say that I do, besides advocating for good candidates to people I encounter personally, is remind people like you that, as the guys have pointed out in other episodes, you didn’t know you weren’t going over seas when you signed up. You were likely away from friends and family (though probably also making more friends and getting a sense of family from the Guard). You did serve so someone else did not have to, and you probably did quite a bit here that enabled someone who did go to go.

You guys are all among the biggest patriots I’ve known. I wish I could sell America as well as you have to me, since PJ Media days. You helped me to understand why I believe what I’ve always believed. So thank you for that. If Thomas Paine was a patriot, then so are all of you.

Thank you, sir. I have a fondness for our military – I grew up an Army brat.

Had you done that, it would not have been a mistake. I learned more in my 8 years of service than I did in 4 years of college.

Thinking about your question brings me to the humble conclusion that the only patriotic thing I’ve done/do is to not be part of the problem: that is, I live consistently within the parameters of our constitution; I stay within the law; I vote knowledgeably; I take responsibility for myself, and give carefully vetted financial support to those in need; I support content creators like billwhittle.com who promote the foundational values upon which our country was founded. I’m a cog among millions of cogs who keep the wheels of progress turning, and I’m happy to play that role.

Those are all very patriotic things to do. If everyone in America were at least that patriotic we wouldn’t have a problem. In fact, the problem would be choosing which course out of several good choices to take.

If everyone in America were that patriotic then there would never be an American son or daughter sent to risk horror, dismemberment or death in a foreign land for anything less than the very best of reasons.

If everyone were that patriotic then the flag, national anthem and pledge of allegiance would still be honored by every American. No football player would insult our flag and anthem, which represent all of us, and would stand proudly in their presence rather than bending a knee like some common vassel.

I could say more because there’s a lot more that could be said but … It’s sufficient to say that you just keep doing what you’re doing and pass that along to as many as you can.

When this episode first started I was inclined to give it, at best, two stars, but as I listened to the three of you and considered more deeply your comments and took time myself to reflect, I give five stars. The comments below reflect what most of us believe, that we are blessed and wish to preserve the values which made this nation great and still serve to encourage people everywhere, not just to come here but to change circumstances in their home countries. I do not doubt for a moment that any of you, and most of us who follow your shows, would sign on the dotted line if we could find a way to contribute to serving this nation in time of need. But it also is true that by living each day with the values we believe reflect the character of this nation at its best is a patriotic act in itself.

Don’t underestimate what it is that you gents do. The first things that came to my mind were the videos you have done over time.
Scott – your series on the constitution should be given to Jr High Schools as teaching aid. Your later videos demonstrate you love of country (different from love of government or politicians)
Bill – All of those videos that you mentioned and more are examples of patriotism and I have sent them to some HS teachers that I know. Still think 3 & 1/2 days is your best, and comes from a patriotic sense of duty and honor.
Steve – you are a shining example of doing you duty by living the American dream: you (way) over married, are raising two fine young men, live in a mostly free state and use words to try to keep it (and the rest of the country) free. And you make a fine cocktail.
For the rest of us, living as if we live in a free country and understanding that the rest of the world is not necessarily so, is the way to honor our country.

Great point about how fortunate we’ve been, Steve. We’re a generation of Spiritual Trust Funders. We’ve lived under peace and prosperity for so long that too many take for granted that it’s the natural state of things. History tells a very different story, and can either learn it the easy way or the hard way. But we will learn it, and the hard way may be coming sooner than later

I joined the Tea Party movement, and got involved in it locally in a leadership role to fight enemies of the domestic type. It was not an easy or comfortable thing for me to do. While I had my opinions on politics, The way I lived my life was pretty much apolitical. Protesting, speaking out, especially into a strong headwind — is to this day not something that comes naturally to me. Though it was a very uncomfortable step for me, it was one I HAD to take. I could no longer just sit by and do nothing.

Now what ended up doing was steering the group more toward education than toward the protesting — because I learned by observation that hearts and minds are won much more effectively on a person-to-person level than on a “get in peoples faces” level.

There is much more to patriotism than signing on the dotted line, though we should reserve to those people the highest level of respect (provided they behave respectably, which the vast majority of them do).

I started The Cluebatting Cage blog during the Iraq war, but largely dropped it when the second Obama election took the wind out of me (and I joined the Rotten Chestnuts blog … which I also lost an appetite for, I think as I started more and more to work on the people I touch in my life – and as I realized that there were much bigger and better things that reached far more people — such as BillWhittle.com and all of its previous incarnations, such as the Blaze from the beginning (though I pretty much haven’t watched it in years – I don’t need it, but I think it is needed), and like The Daily Wire, the Heritage Foundation, and the NRA.

So while I work on the interpersonal level, I try to support organizations that are effectively fighting on a larger social level, or at least helping to educate or even just provide us with other perspectives for us to use when fighting on the interpersonal level (such as you guys).

Bill is right. Saluting and picking up fallen flags and showing respect for The Republic for Which it Stands (there’s an idea for you, Bill. Do a show on The Pledge and pick it apart — that line right there is monumentally important. “To the Republic for Which it Stands” … not necessarily everything that has been done under its name, but for the ideals embodied in the document that outlines that Republic … and, GO!)

Or maybe have Scott or Steve or Zo do a show on it. There’s another idea. Occasional solo shows by them on a topic that moves either of them.

Ok, I’ve digressed enough.

I don’t think Phil is forgetting anything. Sheesh, what do you want him to do, write the script for a whole episode while he’s making a point? 🙂

I like “under God” for sure. But many people don’t know that it wasn’t a part of the original pledge. Ike added it, and I think he added it for a good reason.

There are many aspects to the pledge, not the least of which is that it actually has fascistic roots in a way — insofar as fascism’s top priority is loyalty to the state. Mussolini himself described fascism as
“Everything in the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State.”

But I think our pledge in the context of the idea of America is different. We don’t pledge allegiance to the State, or to a leader (watch those cults of personality re: Obama or Trump or anyone else). We pledge allegiance to a symbol. The symbol is the embodiment of the ideal. The meta-meta idea of what America is about, and then it goes on to underscore that with the line that leaves no doubt — and that is the one I pointed out … “and to the Republic for which it stands”. The Republic itself is an idea defined by the Constitution and is carried out by We the People and the State as defined by it. Again, not the people in the offices, not the institutions we created to manifest the idea, not the President or Congress or the courts or the military … but the idea itself.

The preamble to the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, lays those ideals out very nicely and does not fail to mention that the inalienable rights being protected are endowed to us by our Creator.

Ok, now I *AM* writing the script 😉

I married my lovely wife and worked with her to raise four children. In this, I honor my God, my family and all who defended our liberty before me.

Leave a Reply