American Patriots Association
What is an American patriot? Traditionally we think of a patriot as one who fights and dies for their country. Our nation's founding fathers were American patriots: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, the signers of the Declaration of Independence were American patriots. Many of our great presidents, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy, to mention a few, were great American patriots.
But you do not have to be a president to be an American patriot. One of the greatest American patriots in modern times was the Rev. Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. who was a leader in the Civil Rights movement. Those soldiers who served our nation during two World Wars, during the Korean War, during Vietnam, during the Cold War, in all our nation's struggles were patriots. Women who have struggled for equal rights are also American patriots. One of these would be Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat, an action which sparked the Montgomery bus boycott, she like Susan B. Anthony, was a patriot.
What do all these American patriots have in common? What belief and values qualify them as American patriots? Perhaps it is the fact they love their country, they honor the American flag and the Republic for which it stands, and they believe in the ideal of liberty and justice for all!
This then is the single most determining quality engendered by all American patriots, love for their country, love for these United States of America, respect for the American flag and the Republic for which it stands. What this really means given we are one people, a nation, is that an American patriot expresses their feeling of brotherhood, their bond and love for each other as one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.
An American patriot is then anyone who loves their country. When that love is expressed through works, deeds or acts which contribute to those ideals which they cherish and upon which our great nation is founded and built, then we have acts of patriotism, then we have an American patriot whose actions build upon that foundation of liberty our nation's founding fathers laid.
Because many American patriots are never seen nor recognized for their work, I established the American Patriots Association. A number of events contributed to and motivated my actions. This included witnessing acts of terrorism against our nation, such as the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City, the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the blowing up of our embassies around the world, the murder of our soldiers abroad, acts of destruction aimed at America which we all have witnessed via the media. When someone attacks any American, they attack all Americans.
But the sword was driven home when as anti-American Confederate flag flappers marched upon Montgomery I learned that my soldier father and his family had been forgotten as plans were being made for the closure of Fort McClellan. I therefore resolved to establish the American Patriots Association to promote patriotism in these United States of America.
Toward this end the American Patriots Association invites all American patriots to lend a hand, to work for those values of freedom and liberty which we cherish, to express your love for America.
We can not exist as a nation, as a people divided, black from white, red from yellow, Catholic from Protestant, Christian from Jew, Moslem from Hindi, straight from gay, nor rich from poor. Only together can we endure, for united we stand strong against those forces of terrorism and tyranny which seek to destroy our great nation.
Make no doubt about it, the United States has enemies. As soon as you raise the American flag you have enemies. As soon as you embrace your brother and sisters and exhibit pride in being one people you have enemies. That is why great patriots like Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. were assassinated, were shot down for standing up for freedom and liberty.
The greatest American patriots often make the greatest sacrifice, dying for their country. Yet every child or soldier who is shot down in the streets, killed in the classroom or who dies on the battlefield is an American patriot. We must honor those who are patriotic Americans regardless of their station in life.
Written by Terry Lynch,
16 April 2000
Founder of the American Patriots Association
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