William F. Buckley Jr.
William F. Buckley Jr. is a conservative and critical author of several works. Buckley voices his opinions in subtle ways throughout his columns by specific word choice in order to convince his readers of what he believes to be the truth. In Buckley’s column, “How many stars on the US flag?”, he describes how he believes that patriotism is being diminished in the United States. Buckley states that people in the United States associate the Fourth of July with only “fireworks, cookouts, and sparklers.” Buckley believes that celebrating this holiday by having fun is necessary, however, people need to be more aware of the true value behind the holiday: honoring those who are and have served our country.
Do you agree with Buckley that patriotism is diminishing in the United States? And, what do you believe is the true value behind celebrating the Fourth of July?
For the majority, I do believe patriotism is diminishing in the United States. As each generation grows older, the newer generations are being shown less and less about what this holiday is for. Things such as “fireworks, cookouts, and sparklers” do play a huge roll in the Fourth of July as a holiday and I do feel like these things take over sometimes. To me, I feel that the true value behind celebrating the Fourth of July is to not only honor those who have served our lives but to also reflect on how lucky our country is to be free. I think that we should look back and think about if our history hadn’t granted us our freedom, where would we be? A lot of the young generations don’t realize or understand truly how lucky they are to live in a free country and I think that should be represented a little more.
I disagree; our patriotism is so intense and makes us so proud of our country. The fourth of July is a holiday where we should celebrate, all of our celebration is in the name of the United States and our countries birthday. Our cookouts are all red white and blue themed. Everyone wears red white and blue, our nationalism is so intense. The fourth of July i think is more about ” ‘Murica ” and less about the soldiers, however we do have multiple days reserved for those who are or have served.
I believe that patriotism is diminishing in the United States. Each year the fourth of July is being celebrated more for the fun of it, but missing the true meaning behind it. We still have a great amount of patriotism but each year it is decreasing. The true meaning behind the fourth of July is that it is our country’s birthday. It is supposed to be a day for fun and a day full of celebration but the celebrating isn’t focused on the birth of our country. We do show patriotism because we wear our country’s colors and it shows that we have pride for our country. I think more people should take in consideration the real meaning of the the fourth of July and instead of focusing on all of the fun you are having during this holiday. We should be spending more time praying for our soldiers and thanking for our freedom.
I do agree with Buckley that patriotism is diminishing in the United States. A lot of people forget the true meaning of the Fourth of July. They just use it for cookouts and fireworks. Not many kids these days understand that the Fourth of July is to honor those who served our country and those who are currently serving our country. I believe that the main reason for the Fourth of July is to honor those who are currently serving our country and those who have served our country. Also, the Fourth of July is a day that you spend with your friends and family, have a cookout, enjoy some fireworks that honor our veterans.
I think that he is incorrect, patriotism is still strong in the USA. For example, I’ve seen a ton of support for US National Teams (basketball, soccer) throughout the past year or so and I think this should continue. Many people are proud to be Americans, including me. Next, I think that the 4th of July should be truly celebrated for the freedom of of the United States as an individual union. This should not be a holiday for ignorant fools to be reckless and obnoxious. Thanks for sharing.
I agree with Buckley with his statement about patriotism. It is definitely diminished in the United States. A lot of people just completely forget about the troops who defend our lives every day and just take being safe and free for granted. All people think the 4th of July is now is that it is a time for fireworks and cookouts and they completely forget the actual reason behind the holiday. I am not saying that people should not have cookouts and watch fireworks, but they should keep our troops in mind. People should never forget what they do for us, especially on the 4th of July.
I do not agree with Buckley. Patriotism has always been celebrated in the United States, and in no way it is diminishing. The Fourth of July is so much more than just “fireworks, cookouts and sparklers.” It is about celebrating our freedom, and being proud to be an American. The Fourth of July is the most important holiday we have in the United States, and it will always be that way.
I would have to agree with Buckley and say patriotism is diminishing in the United States. The columnist I researched, Bill O’Reilly, wrote a column sharing a similar topic. He used recent polls to show only 44% of Americans are proud to call themselves Americans, and 28% of Americans believe the U.S. stands above all other nations. America is losing it’s position as a mighty nation from both outside and inside it’s borders.
The Fourth of July has definitely lost it’s meaning to most people.What was originally a celebration of our independence is now an excuse to host a cookout or shoot fireworks for most people. Though the fireworks are meant to symbolize our freedom, few people take that into consideration when watching them explode. Whether or not Obama, the media, or other countries are to blame, patriotism is certainly vanishing from this country, and something needs to be done about that.