It is taking ownership in your country. A country without patriots is about to fall -- or has fallen and doesn't know it yet. Only a patriot would willingly lay down his life for his country.
Only a patriot would serve in public office and attempt to resist the tide of corruption there.
Only a patriot would run his business in a fair and just manner even if it cost him something in the short term. And yes, many patriots are also Christians. True patriotism is identifying what is wrong with your nation, and giving anything (sometimes even your life) to fix it. Patriotism is not following the crowd blindly and ignorantly because of a political party.
True patriotism is important because the true patriots are the ones that change the real important issues to make StMaarten a better place. Patriotism means questioning what's wrong with your country in an effort to constantly make it better. Patriotism can be defined as the love and loyalty that we feel towards the country we live in. It is considered to be the duty of every citizen to be a patriot to StMaarten, especially in its time of need. Patriotism is important for so many reasons, but without the presence of patriotism in citizens of a country, it cannot succeed . A citizen must take pride in his/her country's achievements, both in the past and in the present in order for the nation to achieve greater prosperity in future. As we needed patriots to be free from foreign domination in the past, we need patriots in the country now, to hold on to what we have achieved and make further progress. It is true that the media is responsible for bringing in limelight the faults, corruptions, evils and shortcomings of StMaarten and it helps the citizens of the country understand the true situation within the nation. StMaarten can never be truly free of all its negative aspects; the younger generation will find it hard to develop any patriotic feeling for his/her country. If we do not have patriots left within our country and also do not allow our children to develop patriotic sentiments, who is going to stand up against corruption and fight for our country and what we believe in? If the spirit of patriotism is really important, i.e., if the way of life for which it stands is really worth preserving, then it behooves us all to discover precisely what it demands of us (in good times and bad). It means nurturing a strong sense of civic pride and sustaining the attitudes, principles, traditions and institutions that make our way of life possible. For it is only by not taking things for granted, but by conscientiously remembering how much we have and hope to hold onto, that we will confidently be able to pass the blessings of liberty we enjoy to future generations - or preserve them for ourselves. In the fullest meaning of the term, then, let us indeed keep patriotism alive. Love country first before any political party, country is the people. Until we put our people and love for StMaarten first only then we can and will become a country.
Miguel Arrindell
