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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, July 5, 2003

Many young people feeling patriotic spirit

By Derrick DePledge
Advertiser Washington Bureau

"Patriotism used to just mean being proud of your country, whereas now ... you're either with us or against us."

Christopher Gibu
19, Mililani


"(Patriotism means) you should believe in your leadership and trust that they will get you through.”

Lara Lagos
27, Waipi'o


"Sept. 11 brought Americans together as a whole because we realize we're vulnerable."

Kevin Lau
19, Mililani


"I don't think about it much. We live in a great country. (Members of the military) protect us."

Kiana Chong
17, Kaimuki

WOMELSDORF, Pa. — Tiffany Bevan was at her desk, waiting for the phone to ring. Terrorists had just crashed hijacked airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, but she kept thinking about the strange silence around her.

"The next day, our phones just blew up," recalled Bevan, 21, a commercial customer service representative at Valley Forge Flag Co.

Everyone wanted an American flag. "I started wondering why they weren't flying flags before," Bevan said. "I felt like everything was sort of hitting home for me."

Trauma, like the Sept. 11 attacks, has a way of bringing out emotional extremes. The raw brand of flag-waving, chest-thumping, America-love-it-or-leave-it patriotism has been on vivid display in the United States since the attacks and the wars with Afghanistan and Iraq.

"Patriotism used to just mean being proud of your country, whereas now being patriotic is more a matter of loyalty, like, you're either with us or against us," said Christopher Gibu, 19, of Mililani, one of several young people The Advertiser interviewed at Waikiki Beach to talk about their opinions.

But a deeper shift in attitude also seems to be taking place.

Young people, often derided as cynical or indifferent, appear to have growing confidence in government, the military and other public institutions, research suggests. While patriotism, like faith or love, is impossible to measure in degrees, many young people feel that their perceptions about the country have changed.

"It's definitely changed," says Kevin Lau, 19, of Mililani. "Sept. 11 brought Americans together as a whole because we realize we're vulnerable."

A quieter voice of protest

People between 18 and 30 had a significant role in protesting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"This country was born out of struggle and people fighting for their beliefs even when their beliefs were in the minority," said Matthew Leber, 28, director of the Nashville Peace and Justice Center. "For me, it's my patriotic duty to speak out against our own government because of my love for this country. So when I am against the war, I am still in support of our troops because I support a government that seeks justice through peace."

So far, however, anti-war demonstrations have drawn a diverse cross section of young people, but have not developed, such as protests during the Vietnam era, into a broader social movement that challenged political and cultural norms.

"Patriotism to me means being proud of one's country," said Lara Lagos, 27, of Waipi'o. "You should believe in your leadership and trust that they will get you through. And support your troops."

The all-volunteer military may contribute to a more benign view among young people regarding the armed forces and the government's decision to wage war. Young people are not expected to serve their country as they were during World War II and Vietnam. Without firsthand experience, many young people get their impressions about the military and civic duty from movies, television and the news media.

Comparing his generation to his parents', Christian Iizuki, 24, of Makiki said, "I just see that maybe we're more selfish now. We're off in our own world."

For Rodney Kalekini, 24, of Makiki, "Patriotism would be caring and actually fighting for rights we have as Americans and not being against our country at all, sitting on the sidelines. When there's a war is the only time people bring it up and talk about it."

The Pentagon, aware that such a disconnect could hurt recruiting, is sponsoring an advertising campaign this summer with veterans explaining how the values they learned in the military have helped them in civilian life.

Support for military

Still, public opinion polls and other research indicates that young people have a generally favorable attitude toward the military and other public institutions. Iizuki, despite his reservations about young people's commitment, says as much: He defines patriotism as "pride for your country. No matter what the country does, whether it's right or wrong, you still believe we're doing right."

More evidence:

• A poll of college undergraduates taken for Harvard University's Institute of Politics in April found that students supported the war in Iraq by a 2-to-1 margin.

• An annual survey of incoming freshman undergraduates by the University of California at Los Angeles found that a record 45 percent agreed "somewhat" or "strongly" that military spending should be increased, more than twice the level of support compared with students in 1993.

• A CNN/USA Today Gallup Poll last month found that people between 18 and 49 had higher confidence than Americans older than 50 in most major public institutions, although they had slightly less confidence in the military and the police than older Americans.

A number of young people in Hawai'i reflected that trend.

"I don't think about it much," said Kiana Chong, 17, of Kaimuki. "We live in a great country. They protect us."

"My grandparents' generation was definitely more patriotic," said Brendon Wise, 26, of Kailua. "But after the Iraq thing, I think more people are into military and government, stuff like that."

There has been a surge in patriotic sentiment among young people, said William Galston, director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at the University of Maryland.

But Galston and other researchers have not detected a corresponding increase among young people in voting, decisions to join the military or civic activism. Volunteer levels among young people remain high, researchers have found, but many young people still see acts like voting as a choice rather than a duty.

In Galston's view, the idea that "you can be a citizen by watching and applauding other people doing public work" leaves a gap to be filled that falls between patriotic feeling and civic duty.

America's diversity

The nation's increasing ethnic and cultural diversity also is redefining the meaning of patriotism, as immigrants balance their memories of home with the expectations of their adopted country.

"Being patriotic doesn't only mean waving around your flag and saying, 'Go America.' It means you're there to back up the ideology of the United States, too," said Michelle Kwan, 16, from Loves Park, Ill., whose parents are from Hong Kong and grandparents are from China. "The people who go out and defend our country aren't the only patriots."

Sacrifice

Janelle Kurtz, 26, who works in packing at Valley Forge, said she thought more about the meaning of sacrifice after watching families deal with children in the military who were sent off to Iraq.

"I supported the United States and what we were doing," Kurtz said. "But if I were called, I'd probably want to leave the country. These people in the military have something that I don't have."

Bevan has sort of surprised herself. She has a photo of the American flag Valley Forge donated to ground zero in New York at her desk. She feels proud to be an American.

Outwardly, her life is not that much different than it was that September day at her desk a few years ago. But something inside her has changed. "I think I became a little bit more aware," she said. "I don't think we'll ever be back to normal."

The Tennessean and the Rockford (Ill.) Register-Star contributed to this report. Advertiser staff writer Sara Lin contributed the quotes from O'ahu sources.