Have you heard the phrase “true patriot”?  Here lately it seems to be thrown around like confetti on a princess birthday cake by Republicans trying to make a point or prove their superiority over one another.  Maybe Trump was the one who really breathed life back to this phrase as he calls his supporters “true patriots” numerous times in his first presidency and again during his run for presidency in 2024. It is also believed that today’s supporters feel the title “true patriot” means a break away from the “established Republican” party.  This begs me to ask, do today’s “true patriots” see themselves as “true Republicans”?

Noah Webster, yes the author of the American Dictionary of the English Language in 1828, was actually considered a patriot armed with a pen.  He developed American English, helping our country break from British English.  Webster did join a 60 mile march of militia men to fight the British but colonial forces beat them to the punch, so to say. Noah Webster says a patriot is a person who loves his country, and zealously supports and defends it and its interests.  His dictionary was later published as the Merriam Webster Dictionary.  He should know the definition of a “true patriot”

We are so blessed to be the descendants of those who pledged their lives and honor to shape our country, worked selflessly to shape it into a more perfect union. Those are the TRUE PATRIOTS, who fought and defended our freedoms.  No matter how you loved your country, you were part of the fight.  From the mother who helped send secret messages by the hanging of her clothes on the line, to the farmer who would plow in a different direction, to the generals and soldiers marching into battle, to the gentlemen writing the articles.  They all did their part, respected each other’s contribution to the country they loved.

From my research of true patriots of the 1700s, there is a combination of Democrats and Republicans.  Really? The Republican Party was formed in 1854, years after the Democrat Party in 1828 so it would be historically incorrect to assign any party to a “true patriot”.    

I have personally witnessed (and been on the receiving end) Republicans using the title “true patriot” to disparage other Republicans, ruin Republican candidates campaigns, and even threaten to primary seated Republican officials by self-proclaimed “true patriots” and mostly not because of the lack of patriotism but because of a difference of opinion layered with intense and often irrational emotions.  As if there is an arbitrary invisible line they drew and their skewed definition of “true patriots” should not ever cross.  Oh the shame and horror that will inevitably be bestowed.  

And dare I?  Yes, by virtue of honesty I am obligated to unfortunately group these very same individuals into the self-proclaimed “true conservative” and “true Christian” circle.  They seem to either all fall in line as ordered by some higher power or by a strange coincidence they have the same ax to grind.  True conservative is a little harder to prove one way or the other, but a true Christian?  Let’s talk.  It is my belief that we are all human (right?) which comes with all the same human fallacies.  God knew this, He KNOWS this, and it is why I feel He created the Ten Commandments and reminds us of the seven deadly sins.  He also sent his only begotten son to die on the cross FOR OUR SINS.  Read that again.  It does not say “just in case” we sin but FOR OUR SINS.  God knew we would sin.  It is part of our human nature to be tempted.  Pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth.  It is up to us whether we accept the temptation or take the path less traveled and sometimes the hardest.  Now I am not saying ALL of those proclaiming to be true patriots, true conservatives, or true Christians fall victim of any of those seven deadly sins but when someone places themselves higher than another or disparages someone else for lacking the qualities they hold so high and draw arbitrary lines, then you are, well, sinning.  Simply put, a true Christian would not set out to deliberately destroy or hurt another person and there will be no reasonable excuse when standing at the pearly gates, now will there?  It is time to humble ourselves and look to God for consult.  Humble ourselves, remembering we are not the judge or jury and certainly none of us are perfect no matter how hard we try to portray it.  Humble ourselves as we would expect of a good leader. A leader after all is merely a human with all the human fallacies.  We should not only expect honesty and integrity from our leaders, but also humility and a willingness to admit when they are wrong, bringing us all together in the end.  Just about anyone has the potential to lead those they agree with but a GREAT leader can lead no matter the differences.  A perfectly imperfect union, where we don’t always agree.

As the lines from America the Beautiful, 

God mend thine every flaw, 
Confirm thy soul in self-control, 
Thy liberty in law

So the next time you hear someone say, “Don’t vote for them, don’t support them, or we have to primary them because they aren’t a “true patriot, true conservative, true Christian” ask yourself, would a true patriot, true conservative, or true Christian even lay that kind of gauntlet down?