Patriotic Essay Ladies and gentleman, students and teachers, thank you for coming and listening to my speech. Ben Franklin once said, “If you’re not to be forgotten when you’re dead and rotten, either write something worth reading or do something worth writing”. I believe that this means that everyone needs to do something with their life. There are Americans that have lived up to this quote before, like American writers and patriotic individuals, and there were some events in WWII that were also extremely patriotic. Some American writers are overtly loyal in the literature they write. American writers vary from men to women to all colors like Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston. Walt Whitman, a civil war veteran, decided to write something worth reading. Whitman’s poems are about his time in the war, and about his remarkable events he had gone through. His writings showed Americans the good and bad times of the Civil War. Walt Whitman died in 1892. Langston Hughes wrote against slavery, and he tried his best to do what he could through his writings. Hughes was first noticed when he published his poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” in 1921. Langston Hughes did write many things worth reading so he also fulfilled the quote that he will never be forgotten even thought he is dead and rotten (died May 22, 1976). Zora Neale Hurston was another great American writer. Her books inspired Americans though out her life to help end slavery. Zora and Langston finished Zora’s first novel, “Mule Bone”, in 1931. She has many more books that show her patriotism. Many Americans can still be inspirational even though they didn’t write “something worth reading” they can “do something worth writing”. There are many individuals that didn’t necessarily write something worth reading, but they did something worth writing. Pat Tillman was a defensive starter for the Arizona Cardinals, but ended that story when he decided to go to war with his brother. Any man that is willing to give up a dream job, leave his family, and go fight for his country is a true patriot. (And that doesn’t mean he played for the New England Patriots.) Pat Tillman did not come back from the war. He died from friendly fire. He was a ranger in the war. He was killed surrounding an enemy group with another platoon, and as they closed in, they thought he was an enemy and shot him. George W. Bush is not a war veteran but he is the current President of the United States. The current President has been faulted for the war, but it doesn’t mean he’s not trying to end it. A spoken quote from Bush says, “I long for peace…”. He is a patriot as his love is for his country, America. Fredrick Douglas, a slave with many dreams, was born to be a freedom fighter. Once he ran away and became a free man, he did all he could to convince Abraham Lincoln and all the other white people that slavery was wrong. He has his own newspaper column and he spoke out to people about ending slavery. He also became a great orator. Individuals do stand out as patriots in America; just look at Pat Tillman, George W. Bush, and Fredrick Douglas. An extremely patriotic event, WWII, will be remembered in history forever. The bombing of Pearl Harbor was the first event that brought the U.S. into the war. During Pearl Harbor, America lost numerous soldiers, pilots, supplies, aircraft, and ships. This made many people furious, inspired them to join the army, and it was an enormous loss for America. D-Day was the first invasion of France that the U.S. successfully completed. After this, it was a bloody event that brought death to many Americans. D-Day was a hard fought victory by America that inspired many people. The ruthless Battle of the Bulge that was a major victory for the Americans, it showed the enemy what we were made of, and lifted the spirits of the soldiers. It was the turning point in the war and was the battle that put America on the attack. After the Battle of the Bulge, the Germans went into retreat and almost surrendered. WWII was a war that came to the hands of the Allied countries; through the lives of many, the victory came to us. Ben Franklin’s quote is true because if you want to be remembered, you have to do something memorable. Even in the current times, American writers are still writing things worth reading, inspirational people are still doing something worth writing, and there are still events in WWI that are being taught or learned. If everyone just got up off the couch and did something nice for someone, you may not be a patriot, but you will be doing something to be remembered.