What Is A Patriot?

Today, Monday April 20, is Patriot’s Day in Massachusetts.  We commemorate the men and women who contributed to the beginning of this country’s war of revolution.  Today is also the second anniversary of the Boston Marathon Bombing.  The bombing was a traumatic event.  I am mindful of those world wide who are daily traumatized by acts of war and their residual consequences.  Thousands of civilians have died in the middle east during the last decade.  Citizens of war torn countries around the globe live with renewed, daily trauma. 

What surprises me is that neither 9/11 or the Boston bombing seems to have increased American empathy for civilians who are victimized by war and the warriors.   I am left to wonder what it will take to mobilize Americans to raise concerns about the deaths of civilians as collateral damage.  As one who remembers the social activity of the 70’s, I am surprised at the lack of extensive public debate in this country on the merits of the wars we are in and the impact of those wars on civilians. 

Who is a patriot in this era?  Perhaps the debate could start there.