The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1911-05-26
What is Patriotism and How
Can Patriotism be Taught?
By LAFA YETTE BLISS

We think of patriotism we usually
think of that spirit which prompts a
man to shoulder gun and go out in
defense of his native land. But while
patriotism means heroism, it means
more than that. 1t means the con-
slant positive action of the will, which
In times of peace as well as in war,
operates to protect the fatherland in
it's rights, by maintaining it's laws and
institutions. Bishop Berkeley says in
one of his maxims that where the
heart is right, there is true patriot
ISM How can this spirit of patriotism
be infused into the hearts of the
young, or is it possible to teach pa
triotism? l believe that in many ways
love of country may be fostered in
our schools.
Patriotism is not necessarily taught,
however, by simply flying the flag
oyer the school house, or by saluting
it in grandiloquent phrase, or by mere
instruction upon the structure and
working of our government, or by
loud boasting of our achievements in
war, or by an accurate knowledge of
the dollars and cents of our CONNER
cial supremacy, although these may
be made an important means to that
end.
A boy may learn to salute the flag
with eloquence and grace, but il as
a man he debauches his fellow cltl-
zens by giving or accepting a bride,
he has not learned the lesson of pa
triotism. If as boy he shouts with
fervor and enthusiasm, my country
It's OF thee,' but as man he thinks
1t no crime to cheat and rob that
country, then he Is not the stuff out
OF Which patriots are made, or he was
spoiled in the making. He may pass
100 per cent in civics in the school,
but if his heart is not right he will be
intolerant of the rights and opinions of
others, he will not be willing to give
a due share of his time and energy
to public affairs and he will be con.
tinua;ly placing party before country
Patriotism Begins About the Hearth.
stone.
The teaching of patriotism should
begin in the home at very tender
age 1t is safe to say that if boy is
not patriot in his heart at the age
Ut ten, he will never be one. Home is
the first school and in the home must
be laid the foundation of all the civic
virtues. There he must learn his first
lessons to cheerfully submit to right
tul authority, there he must receive
his first impulses to earn an honest
living, to cherish worthy ambitions,
to be persistent in right things, to
have due regard for the rights of
others, to cultivate self-respect and
self-control. There would be little if
any lawlessness in the state were
there no lawlessness in the home
Shall we expect law-abiding, patriotic
citizens, to grow from children uncon-
trolled in the home, or shall we not
see that anarchy in the home means
anarchy in the state? Men do not
gather figs from thistles.
There seems to be among us a
widespread misconception as to the
real meaning of liberty. Personal lib.
erty does not mean an absolute re-
lease from obedience to anything but
ones own will. 1t means merely
freedom of choice, whether we choose
to follow our own unrestrained wills,
or to render obedience to the will of
another, or the will of our fellows as
set forth in the laws, customs and
rules of civilized society. It would be
well for our country If every boy be-
fore the age Of ten would learn that
personal liberty at no time in life re.
leases him from obedience to some,
thing. The simplest acts Of life, in
the home, the school, and the state
are surrounded by restrictions and
limitations, and the sooner he learns
this, the better citizen he will make
and the happier he will be. He is
hemmed in on all sides by these re-
moral, or legal. If he jumps from a
great height, gravity is not set aside
to save him; if he puts his hand into
the fire it is burned; natures laws are
memorable and she exacts penalty
for every violation. He must learn
to obey the customs of society and to
yield obedience to the legal require
ments of the state or he will suffer
some loss, material or otherwise.
Thus we see that obedience to we'll
considered laws lies at the foundation
of good citizenship, and every we'll
regulated home will devote it's en-
ergies to the securing of willing obe-
dience of it's children to the authority
of parents, teachers, social and bust
ness customs, and the moral and legal
requirements of the state This is
the foundation of patriotism.
The Duty Of the School.
But what can the school do toward
the teaching of patriotism? The
schools have done much in the past
toward inspiring true patriotism, a
patriotism which loathes everything
that brings shame to a nations honor,
or to it's reputation before the world.
The school that forms in it's pupils
habits of punctuality, industry, love
of work, respect for law and order,
and an intense passion in their hearts
to see their country glorious through
the reign of intelligence, honor and
justice in all it's public affairs, that
school is teaching practical patriotism
"a patriotism that will make our
country "best to live in and easiest
to die for Our schools need to teach
the boys and girls that the patriot
ism of the political boss and the
spells politician is sham PATRIOTISM,
although as a rule they pass for the
most intensely patriotic citizens in
their communities. The patriots
most needed today are those who are
willing to take an infinite amount OF
pains-patient, determined, long-con-
tinued, not spasmodic pains, to give
the American people good government
and save American institutions from
the political pirates and despotic free
hooters that like a crowd OF black
harpies have taken possession OF the
government in many places, especi-
ally in our large cities. This kind OF