[Drew]

So I'm sitting here on the Fourth of July. In America, this day is intended to be a celebration of our independence as a country, but also to honor those who selflessly laid down their lives in pursuit of a dream that was shared by an entire people.

This afternoon, I turned my television on and realized that - much to my dismay - someone had turned off the digital cable box the previous evening. This left the TV displaying channel 3, which is unfortunately CNN, a media outlet for which I hold little respect. But even more disgusting than the CNN emblem at the lower part of the screen was the fact that they had an American citizen sitting there, bashing the government, our military and going so far as to say that our founding fathers were clueless.

And that pissed me off.

It makes me wonder, do these people even realize that if it weren't for the leadership of the founding fathers of America, that they would be arrested for speaking as they do today? America was a democracy when the world was still ruled by monarchs. Monarchs who, were this idiot to speak as he did under their rule, would at the least have them arrested, if not exiled, tortured or even executed.

But even that is straying from the point of this post.

I was sitting and thinking today and wondering when it became uncool to be a patriot. Not just in America, but anywhere. It has suddenly become an unspoken social foul to be patriotic about one's country. I woke up one morning and found that things had changed rather abruptly. The outward patriot has become a social outcast; ridiculed for their fervor, laughed at for their beliefs and spat upon for their dedication.

So what ever happened to the days where being a patriot meant something? Where people were so deeply moved by their pride in their country that a few words alone could inspire an entire nation.

When Alexander the Great led the cavalry charge at Chaeronea, he inspired his men with a brief speech about a united Greece under his father Philip. That cavalary charge turned the tide of a losing battle and was the first decisive victory accredited to Alexander.

Or perhaps the example of the Roman general Aetius. While leading his battle-weary legion away from Gaul - back to Rome - after a long, difficult battle, he was ambushed. He had earlier decided to lead a group of men about the size of a modern-day company forward to insure that there were no enemy encampments and now found himself surrounded by more than 500 Germans, the desperate remnants of the defeated tribes. Ill-equipped to repulse the scattered and uncoordinated attacks of the Germans, Aetius and his men found themselves on the verge of imminent defeat. As Aetius rallied the remnants of his men for a heroic final stand he shouted to them, "Fight not for your own lives, but for your fallen comrades, for Caeser and for Rome!" Aetius' men - at that point said to be a number half of that with which they began, the Germans numbering well over 400 - were able to repel the Germans and send them retreating into the remainder of the general's legion.

There are countless battles recorded in the journals of long-dead officers whose tides were said to have been turned by the mere idea of fighting for one's country. And there are many nations around the world who can be proud to say this; it is not something exclusive to the United States of America.

So, Americans, on this Fourth of July do not be ashamed to regard our flag with deference to those who gave their lives so freely in its establishment. Do not be ashamed so sing the National Anthem at a baseball game, or to think patriotic thoughts. Do not be ashamed to be proud of our men and women serving overseas, or those who served in the past. We are a strong nation. It's time we take pride in that, rather than listen to jealous hearts who tell us we should be ashamed of it. And the same goes for Canadians, British, French, Germans and a whole host of other nations whose forefathers fought and died to give them the freedom they enjoy today.