Some negative connotations come along with the word “Republican.” That’s the party who loves big business, who doesn’t care about the common man, who bathes in oil and loves war, who drinks it up when the impoverished suffer, and who is only out to pad its members’ already hefty pockets. I think it’s sad that there’s so much bad blood between our two major parties that people have actually been convinced that a whole half of our country is this evil and inhuman. I feel sorry for any liberal who is truly that pessimistic. If you know me, I hope you have come to learn that I am a compassionate, kindhearted, sensitive person. You also know that I am a Republican. I ought to be living proof that Republicans are not bad people. I do not want to kill minorities or squash the poor, and neither does my party.

But it’s easier to argue with wrong assumptions than it is to replace them with the truth. Allow me to try:

I am a Republican because I believe in the American people. We are the most capable, determined, tenacious of all the earth’s populations, and there is nothing we cannot achieve. Every single one of us can succeed if we try. Even when we’re pressing through unbelievable adversity, trying to squirm our ways out of dire circumstances, or overcoming an endless series of obstacles, we do it. America has always been able to recover from tragedy. Our unity in the days after September 11^th, 2001, demonstrates our patriotism and character. The way we have defended our allies throughout strenuous world wars proves our courage and strength. Our ability to bounce back from such domestic hardships as the Great Depression and Hurricane Katrina are testaments to our resolve.

I am a Republican because I know all of this. I have seen the American people get up from the hardest falls, and I know that we are able to make each of our own ways in the world. We do not need free handouts or government coddling or legislative handholding. Republicans expect the best from our people and do not preemptively offer assistance before it’s asked for. I know that each one of us can succeed independently, but if effort is no longer a requirement, we won’t try. Nothing is worth having if it’s easy to get. America is good at working for what it gets, truly earning it, and I think every one of us deserves the chance to rise to that challenge. That is a core Republican value.

I am a Republican because I do not think anyone should be punished for success. When a person has aimed for greatness and hit the target dead center, that’s a time for celebration, not a slap on the wrist. It is not right to get angry at someone because he or she was able to do what someone else would or could not. Competition is part of human nature, and when we stifle the competitive spirit for the sake of sameness, we are abandoning what has made mankind successful. The rich are not evil. They are not crooks or thieves or murderers any more than any other sect of our society, and their vilification comes of nothing but jealousy. The rich have worked hard and made good decisions to earn their pennies, and nothing is stopping a member of the lower class from doing the same. But when, instead of encouraging entrepreneurship or dedication or diligence, we offer to redistribute a rich man’s money into a poor man’s pocket, we have become accessories to criminal action. We have allowed the government to steal from its people and punish the innocent. To each his own, and only that. Another Republican value.

I am a Republican because I believe in freedom. I think that each one of us should be granted the right to make all of our own decisions so long as our choices do not infringe upon others. For instance, you have the right to own a gun so long as you don’t use it to kill another man. Over the past two centuries since our founding fathers established American government, it has grown to sizes that were never meant to be. We, the electing public, should control the government. They now control us. That is not democracy. When your government even has the option to propose a 700 billion dollar corporate bailout, your government is too big. The government is now trying to tell us what we can say and hear via the Fairness Doctrine, limiting what healthcare options we’re allowed to get via the universal system, and controlling exactly where our hard-earned money goes and how much of it we can bring home. We are losing our freedoms, and it’s as though people have stopped caring. It’s as though we’ve forgotten what true freedom feels like and why it’s so great. Elephants never forget. So freedom has remained a Republican value.

I am a Republican because I am an American, through and through. Awaiting election results a few days ago, people on both sides were swearing to move to Canada if things didn’t go a certain way. I couldn’t even fathom. I could never move to Canada because I could never leave America. I know that we are the greatest nation on earth and it is vital, not only for ourselves, but for everyone in the world who depends on our prosperity for their own, that we remain strong and free. We were founded by rebels who revolted against oppression, and I fear that we are becoming the kind of country we first left. But because I am an American, because I am a Republican, I will fight against this again. If we start to slip back into limited speech, religious persecution, socialism or monarchy or tyranny, I will plant my feet in American soil, remembering the solid grounds on which we built this country, and what we once believed in.

I am a Republican because I want to be, and true Republicans will always stand for choice. Every American can make his or her political distinction out of pure, free, unadulterated choice, and this is the one I’ve made. Maybe someday I’ll take a different path, but I wouldn’t count on it; I am a Republican because I was born that way, in my very heart and soul. And no one can tell me that that’s not who I am.

The Olympics. The world comes together every four years to pit our strongest, fastest, lithest, most tenacious athletes against each other to see which country’s youth is truly golden. Although we are in competition, no other event seems to breed as much international unity as these games. Individual patriotism, however deep-seated, does not overpower camaraderie between mismatched flags. For just a few days, we do not see other countries as debt collectors or political allies or roadblocks of our affairs. We are all just humans, rooting for our teams and experiencing every loss, victory, injury, and fairy tale in tandem.

But every night, after I turn off the instant replays and national anthems, I remember that everyone hates America. Isn’t that right? We’re the international bad guys, the global heavy-weights of idiocy and pollution and general pig-headedness? That’s the impression I get from many politicians and average members of the US populace alike. And whenever I speak of my own devotion to the stars and stripes, it automatically makes me a conductor of the machine that is American Evil.

Since when did it become an American trait to hate America? We’re all so ashamed of our nation, taught to ignore anything good we do. Our schools sucks, we love war, we’re nuclear energy hypocrites, we stick our big, democratic nose where it’s said to be unwelcome, and we’re a bunch of fatties. Focusing on the things previously listed, I’d hate us, too. But this is not the definition of America.

I’ve always considered myself a mild patriot. While I’d like to claim that I’m whole-heartedly proud of my country, almost to the point of nationalism, and that I wear my passion on my red, white, and blue sleeve, my patriotism has been blasted by the anti-American epithets and bitter cynicism that fly under the name of liberal media, and it has been a struggle to keep my grip on it. My mother, moved to tears by the words of a Frenchman, seemed to have forgotten, or tucked so deeply away, her love for her country that a foreigner had to remind her that we do good things. While this new French president’s speech was incredible, my mother’s reaction to it made me sad, because the duty of inspiring patriotism in US citizens’ hearts should not fall in the hands of anyone who does not reside within our own borders. Instead of beaming with pride, we tear down our nation from within. How might we stand when we don’t even support ourselves?

It should not come just once every four years that we feel something besides hatred for our great land. Call us what you will, but our country is a source of hope for the rest of the world, a powerhouse of opportunity, and a safeguard for anyone pledging allegiance. I don’t claim American flawlessness, but we are not the soul of blackness our own people make us out to be. And what saddens me most is that this reputation is one we have created ourselves. And only we can undo it.

I am not ashamed that I well up whenever our anthem plays for a gold medalist our flag has bred. I am not ashamed that we are more fortunate than anyone else in the world. I am not ashamed that we are strong. I am proud to be an American, and I am proud to have such pride.

Stop letting shame define Americanism. It is the antithesis of our foundation, and a return to our roots is apparently long overdue.