I have a hypothesis as to why McCain’s brand of patriotism isn’t apparently as attractive or relevant to American society today: Most people have not paid for the freedoms they enjoy in this country. Therefore, like a spoiled child who receives everything they want without sacrifice-they take those freedoms for granted.

“Freedom Isn’t Free”. I see the bumper stickers and my thoughts drift to Tokyo, Japan, 1986. I was an Airman First Class at Yokota Air Base and protestors were lobbing hand made explosives over the fence next to my barracks. They were protesting the first economic summit that Reagan was attending. I saw Air Force One parked to my left. I dodged home-made hand grenades coming in on my right. And I narrowly escaped a car bomb attack. I was paying the price for freedom.

Then, in 1988, while pinned down by gunfire on a small island in Greece, I thought “Does anyone even care”? On that night, I was actually videotaping a riot at the front gate of our small outpost. Libya (just 60 miles to the south) was also threatening to bomb us with chemical bombs, hence I was dripping wet from being sealed inside my chem-warfare suit. I was again paying the price for freedom.

But my price paled in comparison to that paid by my father. Fifty years earlier, on a freezing wind-swept hill in Korea, he made the first payment. As he performed field surgery on his buddy’s sucking chest wound (he was a medic in the Army), he certainly wondered if it was worth it. He returned with shrapnel wounds, gunshot wounds, grenade wounds and yes…psychological wounds. He paid the price of freedom.

It’s difficult to really put a price on something you don’t pay for. That’s why you don’t see people jumping to a standing position with hand over heart during the playing of our national anthem…not even during the Olympics. That’s why they don’t get goosebumps when “America, The Beautiful is played”. The truth is, for many Americans…for MOST Americans….freedom really WAS free.

America, the great “melting pot”, is filled with diluted soup. Everyone has moved to the middle. We no longer stand on noble values. We no longer hold each other to a higher standard. Honesty, integrity and the power of good…have all been diluted. In their place is a national attitude of tollerance for any and all deviation. In their place is a vaceum our enemies will be happy to fill. We are not paying the price for freedom.

But not to worry. With Mr. Obama at the healm, we are sure to see another conflict somewhere in the world (perhaps on our own shores) that will only be won if we all pitch in. The crumbling of the twin towers did little to inspire long-term resolve in the population of these United States.

Why no Patriotism? Simple. For most Americans, the freedoms they enjoy are an entitlement won with the blood and tears of others, on distant shores and in different times. They don’t feel patriotic because they have not paid the price for freedom. The question is: will they when they have to?

As a young person who did not have to fight for her freedom and has been blessed, I do champion my country and love it dearly. I admire those who are serving to defend this country/ However, I see that there is a lot of hypocrisy that does not perpetuate the freedom or the pursuit of happiness promised upon birth to every American citizen. The current state of this country is stagnant and appears to going drastically downhill in a frustrating and frightening fashion. We are fighting wars over greed and searching for weapons of mass destruction without probably cause—both of my grandfathers fought in WWII for the betterment of others and to defend a legitimate threat to their country. Bush, and I believe McCain too, act before they think when it comes to matters of defense, and that kind of behavior can no longer be tolerated, not if we want to maintain the dignity and respect throughout the rest of the world gained by our parents and fathers. Fighting for your country is a noble thing to do, but only if the cause is a worthy one. While McCain has my sincere respect for all that he has done to serve his country, I don’t believe his politics are the way this country needs to head. Furthermore, I also think that if you took a minute to look at this generation, you would see that they are fighting for Obama because they believe in a change with gumption and sweat for the betterment of a country they love just as much a the elder generation. I know many, many young people who would gladly go to war for this country if there was a threat that was very real and not a constant calling wolf, scare tactic.

Please also consider where this generation has been in the last 8 years: we have seen 9/11, we have had our friends die fighting in the middle east for what most consider a helpless, useless war, we have seen a recession that may rival the Great Depression taking jobs away from our friends and families, we have student loans that we will be paying off for the next 15 years with wages that we can hardly afford our rent on, we have seen a fruitless, lasting war that has created disgust internationally. And then we hear that McCain has voted with Bush 90% of the time. I ask you nw, how can you can question this generation’s patriotism when they are trying to vote to improve their country?