Patriotism or just PO'd? ~ By Dave Welch

Commentary from WorldNetDaily

By Dave Welch Posted: January 23, 2010 ~ 1:00 am Eastern © 2010 The political breath of fresh air that swept through Massachusetts this week like an old-fashioned "nor'easter" gave hope that the government takeover of health care and the radical agenda of the Marxist/Democrat machine can be slowed or stopped. The fact that it occurred near where another "shot heard 'round the world" occurred on the 19th of the month (April) was particularly sweet. As usual, let me be the fly in the sugar bowl for a moment to remind us of some important facts. First, anything close to center and certainly center-right from the Commonwealth was a huge victory. However, lest we pin too much hope on Scott Brown, it is important that we remember some critical facts. First, he represents a state that has given us Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Barney Frank and – I know I'll raise some ire with this inclusion – Mitt Romney … all center to very far left on a legitimate scale of true conservatism. This political victory was desperately needed to throw grease under the drive wheels of the Obama/Reid/Pelosi locomotive. The fact that it also represents the uprising of the Common Joe to take our government back is inspiring. With that stated, here is the question we must answer; "How did we get from John and Sam Adams to Ted Kennedy and Barney Frank to begin with?" We must also answer the challenge David presents us from God's word: "If the foundations be destroyed, what shall the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:3) The foundation he was referring to is in verse 1, "In the Lord, I take refuge. …" Do we largely take refuge, aka hide our collective self under His authority and protection? How is it that the region that was the birthplace of freedom and produced like the Adams and documents like the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut declined so far, so fast? While we often deride Western Europe for its dead churches, secularism and socialism, those nations have been on a much longer and more gradual decline. New England is the least churched region in the nation, following in the footsteps of our European cousins, producing similar fruits. In large part the majority of our pulpits, congregations and institutions no longer reflect the "aflame with righteousness" described by Alexis de Tocqueville. We have loved comfort, popularity, prosperity and peace far too much to risk even preaching the offensive truth of God's Word lest we chase off the big donors or aren't invited to be keynote at the Church Growth Conference. While we love to wave flags and wipe a tear on Independence Day, do we really know what patriotism is, or is it even a legitimate premise for Christians? Am I irritating you will all these questions? Good. How we define patriotism in its true form, whether it is just people mad at government overreach and overspending or whether the foundations of it are much deeper, is critical. Noah Webster, in his historic 1828 dictionary defines it as:

PAT'RIOTISM ,n. Love of one's country; the passion which aims to serve one's country, either in defending it from invasion, or protecting its rights and maintaining its laws and institutions in vigor and purity. Patriotism is the characteristic of a good citizen, the noblest passion that animates a man in the character of a citizen. (emphasis added)

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