What does it mean to be a patriot in modern-day America? The meaning of the word is being more and more diluted every day. In fact, to define a “patriot” without examining the facts wouldn’t even be advantageous, yet. Before approaching the literal meaning of the word first look at the damage that has been done already, by the everyday misuse. These are divisive times for an American citizen and in it, one can see the word patriot thrown around so often that it has begun to lose meaning. Three distinct uses that cause the most damage include, but are not limited to: the naming of a missile, the disguise of negative ambitions of specific legislation, and in general, as an informal fallacy. The first example is certainly the simplest, however …show more content…
P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act. There is no greater show of irony, and misrepresentation of this word, than “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001.” Without a doubt, the moments transcribed in history on September 11th are some of the vilest actions committed on American soil. It is also a tragedy, and an abuse, that those acts of terrorism were then immediately used as an excuse to commit more wrongdoing, as well as remove many rights of the American citizen. The Patriot Act (as is more easily referred to), lead to the torture and death of thousands of people foreign to the United States. It cannot be argued however that Osama Bin Laden did not need to be stopped, but it is without doubt that a route should have been chosen if it would have prevented harm to millions of individuals worldwide. After an act of egregious terrorism cost so many lives, the American Government, adding insult to injury, removed the privacy from its own people and started multiple wars. All of this was committed under the guise of love of country, and patriotism. It casts no doubt that the Patriot Act caused more damage than it could ever, or ever will, …show more content…
Informal fallacies occur, in the most basic sense, when an argument is made, then a proposed counterargument is ignored. For example, if one examines recent events in the NFL, they would witness Colin Kaepernick, as well as over 200 players and owners, taking a knee when the national anthem plays before a football game. Half the country, feels that “no patriot would kneel during the anthem,” they also supplement that argument by simply saying this is an offense to the flag and soldiers who fought for this nation. I would then add that many veterans have stated they fought specifically so that people could have that right, and in some cases, one can even see veterans from some of the most brutal wars in history, in turn, taking a knee in solidarity. The common problem is that this part of the discussion is then ignored, and the retort that follows would be: “well, no true patriot would kneel during the anthem.” It should be noted that this is an anecdotal example, and, that this example does not speak for all people who believe what happened was wrong. It exists only as a common sample to explain what happens every day. This fallacy perpetuates the problem that this paper is trying to prove, while also being a product of the very misdeed. It is a vicious, cyclical problem committed all the time, and instead of having a conversation about what it means to be a patriot, many