God Bless America

I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm one of those Americans who tear up when the the Star Spangled Banner is played at high school football games or when the U.S. flag ripples in the wind when it's carried through the rodeo arena during opening ceremonies.

I have been away from the United States for a week, but I miss it deeply. I miss the exchange of news when you see a neighbor at the post office or the grocery store. I miss the way people raise a finger off the steering wheel to say hi while driving, and you don't even know them. We do it in Texas, so I'm assuming other states do it, too. I miss the hundreds of American customs that usually go unnoticed -- until you're in a place where those customs don't exist.

I miss seeing those icons that are uniquely American, even if I see them only in pictures. The Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima, the Lincoln Memorial, the Blue Angels flying in formation or the dignified rows of crosses at Arlington National Cemetery. I miss America.

I'm not one of the pessimists who believe that Americans are losing their patriotism. It's as strong today as it was on Dec. 7, 1941, or on Sept. 11, 2001. Don't let anyone tell you it's not. Lance Cpl. Aaron Austin never questioned it. A love for his country and his Marine brothers urged him to that Fallujah rooftop in 2004, even though he knew it was unlikely he would come back down.

If anyone tells you that our country is going to hell in a handbasket, please ask that person to drive to a certain cemetery in Amarillo, Texas. There they will find a grave marker with Aaron's name on it. Let that doubter of American faith and patriotism sit on the granite bench at Aaron's head and reflect on the valor of a 21-year-old American who cast his fear of death aside in order to protect his brothers and his country. Let that doubter sit on that bench which bears Aaron's name and then walk away and still say that patriotism doesn't exist in this country.

There are too many grave markers like Aaron's that say it does.