Since Saturday is the 250th anniversary of our nation, I would be remiss in not talking about the true meaning of patriotism.

I was in kindergarten in the lead-up to the bicentennial, and remember loads of events we participated in (I seem to recall making Uncle Sam hats, but can't remember if we did the beards as well). I'm sure somewhere in my grandma's pile of photos there are images of parades that year; I know for a fact there are pictures of me in a Christmas parade with a sack over my head as a reindeer. Nanny and Grandpa's house will be sold soon, so I'm hoping my niece manages to get out all those photos beforehand.

At 5 and 6 years old, I was the perfect age for imparting a sense of blind patriotism, where we truly were the greatest country in the world, and George Washington really did chop down that cherry tree, but dang it, he admitted it. Later I'd find out that the history I was taught when I was younger was massaged, dumbed down and, in the case of George Washington and the cherry tree, fully made up (shame on you, Parson Weems).

But here's the thing about loving your country: Just like loving a person, you accept and acknowledge the good and the bad parts because they make up the whole. When we teach the history of our nation, we shouldn't ignore or downplay Manifest Destiny, slavery, the Trail of Tears, the red scare, Jim Crow or other........

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