During the build-up to the Iraq War, after the September 11th attacks, we as a collective we led to believe that invading Iraq would be a great step into defeating terrorism around the world. Those of us who did not believe this before the war and still disagreed after there was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction, were not labeled as patriots. The branding of this word "patriots" by any political party as not caring for this country is an insult to people that want to think for themselves and disagree. From the definition above, the term patriot does not imply that we follow the government into war without question. The authority and interest of the United States is to be a beacon to the remainder of the world for the quality of life and freedoms that we enjoy.

The dissent with the Iraq war was not equatable to McCarthy-ism, but similar in intent to lose focus on the enemy at the gates. Some may see this argument as anti-immigrant, I disagree. This is an argument to challenge each and everyone of us to do what we can to enrich this great nation and debate issues, including illegal immigration, for a healthier public knowledge and understanding of our country. This is an opportunity to stand up and be counted on a daily basis, being aware of your world around you and what we can do when we unite for a cause that is nationwide and be respected and have respect for each other.

Why place a color to the shirt if we are all the same?
There are middle of the road grey shirts, shirts with different messages, but we are all still citizens and can express a bit about ourselves, if you wish, before you speak to let people understand that we have different positions on many topics, but their point is just as valid as another point of view.

News articles about our citizenry will be incorporated into this site to learn different points of view from around the country. Diligent reporting and inquiring by us will keep our government more open and aware of our concerns and the resources we treasure. What is being done with our tax money, our borders, our rights, our judicial system, and our beliefs, these are the questions that we can push everyday.

We can draw a similar position to President John F. Kennedy's quote of "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." We should think and act as the idea of a citizen is to not extract what it can from the goverment and the government is to not extract what it can from the citizens, it is a balance of compromise and mutual respect for advancing the nation.