After President Biden reluctantly took himself out of the 2024 presidential race yesterday, many are praising his decades of public service and calling him a patriot. Do you agree with this characterization?
We tend to think of patriots as larger-than-life figures from centuries ago in history books, battling for our independence in the Revolutionary War. And yet in reality, patriots can also be just regular people like you and me who work consistently over the course of years to make our communities and country better in whatever way they can.
Regardless of their specific views, patriots share a common mindset we could all learn from as we aim to make a positive impact on our world.
1 – They believe in something greater than themselves.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, affectionately known as RBG, graduated first in her class from Columbia Law School in 1959 alongside her mostly male peers, only to be told she wouldn’t be hired as a lawyer in the traditional law firm setting because she was a woman. Instead of being defeated, she found another path for her legal career and eventually served on the U.S. Supreme Court for over a quarter century.
Even when the world around her didn’t yet reflect it, RBG believed fiercely that everyone deserved equal treatment under the law. She worked for decades to further the interests of women and other marginalized people in our society. She fought against much opposition for long overdue change.
Patriots believe deeply in something greater than themselves. They often blaze trails others could only dream of, cementing visions of what we could be, even if no one else can see it yet.
2 – They are willing to prioritize the common good over personal interests.
John Lewis, long-time defender of civil rights for black Americans, talked the talk but also walked the walk. In 1965, he was beaten nearly to death as he peacefully walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on Bloody Sunday with hundreds of others protesting racial injustice. Certainly, he could have chosen a more comfortable and less publicly controversial path, but he believed in the cause more than personal comfort.
Lewis went on to serve in the U.S. Congress for over 30 years striving to pass laws that more fairly represented all American people and furthered democracy for all citizens. When Lewis died in 2020, a nation mourned one of the last iconic heroes of the 1960s civil rights movement who walked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and committed to a lifetime of service to the worthy yet still unfinished cause.
Even when it might be better for us personally to act differently, patriots show us by example how to set aside personal comfort and perspective to do what’s right for the greater good. They embody the “one for all” spirit and inspire us to do the same.
3 – They worry more about the big picture than what other people think.
in 2008, when John McCain was running for President, he made headline news when he publicly corrected a woman at his own campaign rally who mischaracterized his opponent Barack Obama’s heritage. A well-respected veteran, POW and politician by that point, McCain could easily have capitalized on the moment for political gain. Instead, he politely corrected the woman’s error, confirming that Obama was a “decent, family” man, but they just differed on how to run things as President. This was certainly not the norm for politicians.
McCain’s call for respect for his opponent demonstrated that his love of our democracy rose above any ratings bump he might have received from letting the disrespectful comment stand. McCain was widely respected even by those who disagreed with his politics because people knew he had the best interest of the country at heart regardless of personal consequences.
The current dominance of social media and soundbites often drives us to focus less on what we are actually saying or doing than what others will think about it. It’s human nature to want others to like us. But as much as we can, we need to keep the big picture in mind and do what is right for the good of everyone, no matter what others think now or what it means for our personal legacy down the line.
We won’t all serve in a war or hold political office – the traditional paths to patriot status – but everyone can have a patriot’s mindset. It’s not easy, but you need to care for the well-being of all others, not just those whose beliefs align with yours.
When you help your family member or neighbor through a crisis, you have a patriot’s mindset. When you consider how your potential words or actions will impact those around you, you have a patriot’s mindset. When what you do inspires others to step up their game and work for a stronger community or country, you have a patriot’s mindset.
Who are today’s modern patriots? What if, instead of looking to other people to step up, we each adopt a patriot’s mindset and become today’s patriots ourselves? What vision do you dream of? How can you help us get there? We can’t wait to see how you do it.
