The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1957-09-27


for. Nevertheless it is true: there
is no closed season for patriotism.
There is a daily need for patriots.
ceuatsrteh pstfisttsm
Patriotism is not noise. not
speeches. The patriot is not the
man who brags about his country
the most. Travellers abroad from
America know the nuisance type
Of tourist who is forever complain
ing, wherever he is, about nearly
everything, loudly telling the world
that I'VE have it better in the
States" Such a man Is not doing
America any good. Hanging out
the flag on important days is a
good practice, but mans patri-
otism is not to be measured by the
regularity Of his hag-displays. Fur
thermore, a true patriot is not one
who thinks of his own stock as the
true Americans. and all others as
not quite it. A man like this will
think OF descendants Of earlier
immigrants as antiuuated. out Of
touch with life; and the descend
ants of those immigrants who
came later he thinks are really
Europeans or something, never
quite Americans.
Initiative
Many patriots portraits are to
be found in the Bible; Nehemiah
Is one OF these. He was. a governor
OF Jerusalem, under the Persian
Empire. more than a hundred
years after Jcrusalem's freedom
had been lost. Jerusalem had had
string Of governors before: but
not one Of them, or all Of them
together, accomplished for that
| city and its people what Nehemiah
| did in his term Of Office. He was
| a true patriot, one whose services
| really benefit his country. one who
| renders services without asking
| payment in return; or il he is. q
| man on salary, as Nehemiah
seems to have beer, he goes BE-
| yond what he is paid to do. Nehe-
| miah never had to- be. pushed Of
| prodded. He was out in front. see
| ing what had to be done and start
ing to do it, while other men slept.
Leadership
There have been patriots without
much power or gift OF leadership;
| but surely better type Of patriot
| is man or woman who can stir
other people to serve their country
too This Nehemiah is famous for
! building wall; but he may never
have laid brick. personally. He
did something far more miracu-
lous than that: for the first time
in l40 years. he got the people Of
Jerusalem hard at work at what
they should have been doing long
before: getting wall built around
their little city. The people had
a mind to work." but it was their
governor who inspired this ambi-
ton in them. The great patriots Of
every nations history, David,
Scipio, Henry v, George Washing
ton. Syngman Rhee, and all the
rest, have been men from whom
as from . dynamo electric current
flowed to vast numbers Of their
countrymen. Under their leader
ship, weak men were brave. dis
couraged men full Of hope.
hsIlgisn,
Religion, in any nation, is not
like an auxiliary water tank, for
the use Of the fire department.
something that can be tapped in an
emergency and then turned on
again when the trouble is over.
Religion if it is worth anything is
more important than patriotism,
just as God is more important than
any country. Nevertheless, though
God refuses to be used as politi-
cal ally. as Hitler and others have
tried to use him. other things being
equal the man with the most vital
religion makes the best patriot.
For religion is first and last reli'
ance upon God, as supreme Helper
and as final Judge. Nehemiah's
religion comes out in many ways
but it is plain that he was no once
a-week believer. His faith in Coz
was woven into all his actions. HI
never spent long hours in prayer;
but there was no corner Of his ift
shut Of from it.
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