Patriotic

So many words can describe me, but  “patriotic” is one of the best ones. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about how lucky I am to be raised in the great land of America. I am very grateful for it. 
Many people have different definitions for this word, the New Webster's Expanded Dictionary states that the word patriotic means “Actuated or inspired by the love of one's country.” That definition means a lot to me and my family. We all love our country and would truly do anything to keep this country safe and secure. This definition falls a lot on the men and women who defend our country and make the ultimate sacrifice. I think many of them make their decision to join and defend our country is just because they love it that much and they don’t want anything to happen to it.
The American Flag is one of the most patriotic things a person could have in their house or on their property. At my house, we fly an American Flag off our garage over our driveway so everyone can see it when they drive by. If you don’t have respect for the American flag, I don’t think you have respect for this country or the men and women who have lost their lives fighting for what our country is today. When I am at a public event when they play the national anthem and I see a kid that doesn’t take his hat off. It makes me mad. The second I see it, I yell at them and tell them to take it off, and if they don’t I'll go and take it off for them. Then with all these professional athletes who are kneeling while the National Anthem is playing is a complete disgrace to everyone in America. If I was the team owner they would be off my team immediately because I wouldn’t want my team or players get a bad reputation for themselves.   
As Mark Twain once said “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your government when it deserves it.” I tend to agree with him, we as Americans have to always stand by our country, especially if we are fighting for it, you don’t always have to stand by your government because it will do things that you disagree with and you can't change, but when it actually does something that is beneficial for you and the country then you can go back and support the government along with your country.  
The most patriotic people are the men and women who courageous enough to go out and defend our country everyday. !I call them patriots. I call them this because they drop everything to defend the American people and it doesn’t matter to them what those people do for them in return.
Being patriotic is similar to a nationalist but not exactly the same. A nationalist is a person who advocates political independence for a country, while being patriotic is having a devotion to and vigorous support for one's country. Many Americans have that support for our country, like the brave soldiers storming the beaches of Normandy in World War Two.
When I think on whether or not I want to serve my country in the future, it is a big decision. I would like to follow my grandfather's footsteps of being in the Army and try to keep that in the family. I believe it would make me proud as person and my family honored and I don't think there is a better way than to serve your country as an American citizen.