America: home of the free and land of the brave. As a child, I remember growing up signing the National Anthem with such awe and passion. No, I am not particularly a good singer, but it did not matter: I loved my country and I loved our National Anthem. I was proud to live in the land of the brave, to be counted among such a great people. I could not wait to grow up and join the ranks of brave men and women fighting tirelessly to keep our country free. The way I saw it, all Americans were patriots working hard as soldiers, businessmen, farmers, teachers, and even lawyers, to preserve the liberties and heritage of America. Unfortunately, my 10-year-old mind’s version of America quickly faded as the song ended and I grew older. As an adult, my perspective of America’s people dramatically changed. As an adult, I saw greed, empathy, slander and self-entitlement where, as a child, I had imagined, honor, grace, trust and passion. I began to ask myself “Where are the people who are the latter? Do they exist? Are they hiding waiting for their chance to make their stand?”

Coming from the world of business, where every word must be prefaced with 10 pages of legal explanations and exceptions, my ideas of America become much darker. I quickly learned that trust was not a luxury, truth was not a value, and honor was only for fairytales. Yet, my heart ached for the America that I imagined as a child, for the America my parents taught me about. I continued to ask myself, “Where are the patriots, the brave Americans who stand for freedom?” I knew they had to be out there somewhere. Life went on and I spent my time working and building my business. I soon forgot about the National Anthem and the America that I was searching for. The memories of my childhood passion become buried by deadlines and contracts. Soon, America was to me as it was to the rest of her people, just a place. Life had more important things to bring me than childish views of a land brimming from sea to shining sea with brave, kind, and goodhearted people. Besides, I had to look after myself and my family.

It was at that moment that I realized my failure, when I caught myself saying that I was more important than my country and her future. A flood of realization poured over my very soul. The Patriots were all around me; they were next door, they were at church, they were business owners, doctors, soldiers, even lawyers, just as I had envisioned as a child. The problem was not that Patriotism had died; it was that somewhere along the line, we had changed the meaning of the word. My generation grew up being told that success was money, power, a college education, and a big house. Our idea of being a good American was providing a 3 car garage for our SUVs, cell phones for our 7 year olds, and $100 shoes for our teenagers. I understood at that moment that the American Patriot, under the new definition, was doing exactly what they were told was right.

Now, people all across America are beginning to realize the same thing. As the current economy destroys people’s hopes and dreams of the “good life,” we are all beginning to reevaluate what is important. Many are learning the real definition of patriotism and the American People do not like being lied too. We are finding that the American Dream was meant to be about freedom, not security. We are wondering for the first time in many years what real freedom looks like. Brave men and woman are stepping up to say that this is the land of the free and we want it back. We have tried for a long time to fulfill ourselves with possessions and overbooked calendars, however, now that many of our calendars sit empty, our hearts have time to be filled and we are once again standing tall with pride and honor at the sound of our National Anthem. I would not wish failure or loss on anyone, but these current times have taught me that American resolve is still strong. We all bought into the lies about what makes America tick, but once the truth was revealed, we quickly regrouped and we now stand ready to protect and defend the real American Dream.