Patriotism

I consider myself a practical, even prosaic, person. I eschew mushy emotionalism, and patriotic jingoism leaves me cold. I know I am fortunate to live in the United States, but I always considered my allegiance to be logical rather than sentimental.

One winter, Husband and I visited Older Son and his wife in Massachusetts and checked out the historical sites--Massachusetts is chock-full of them. It was a bitter cold day when we drove to Concord bridge, and crunchy snow covered the ground about six inches deep. Grudgingly, I trudged up to the Minuteman statue to read the inscription:

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard 'round the world.

And I cried like a baby. Even now, rereading, I'm tearing up. I guess I'm nothing but a mushy sentimentalist after all.