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If You Only Love Your Country When You Agree With Its Government, You Don’t Understand Love
From my heart to yours this 4th of July weekend…
Patriotism is in decline. Among young people, it’s in sharp decline. For others, their patriotism rises and falls with who’s in office or what party holds power.
But that’s not real love.
If you only love someone (or something) when you agree with them, you don’t understand love.
One of the worst things that’s happened this century is that we now confuse love with emotion as well as with agreement and approval. And we do so openly and strongly.
Love is not about emotions and feelings. Those things accompany love and give it “juice,” but they aren’t (in and of themselves) love. Love isn’t about pride or agreement or affirmation.
Love is a decision. A commitment. A choice to give. A willingness to sacrifice. That’s what real love looks like.
I love Thomas Aquinas’s definition of love…
“To love is to will the good of the other.”
You can love people and not agree with them. And you can love your country even when you might be disappointed.
