True patriotism isn't cheap. It's about taking on a fair share

“True patriotism isn’t cheap. It’s about taking on a fair share of the burden of keeping America going.” Thus speaks Robert Reich, and in these words lies a reminder both stern and noble. Patriotism is not a garment to be worn on holidays, nor a slogan to be shouted in passing. It is a sacred duty, heavy with responsibility. To love one’s land is to shoulder its struggles, to labor for its future, and to accept sacrifice when sacrifice is required. The shallow man waves a flag yet does nothing; the true patriot bends his back and gives of himself for the greater good.

This teaching is not new, but ancient as the hills. Nations are not upheld by chants or ceremonies alone, but by the daily toil and quiet offerings of their people. Patriotism is proven not in easy comfort but in the willingness to bear the burden—whether in war, in work, or in service. When Robert Reich declared these words, he stripped away illusion: to keep a nation alive demands labor, courage, fairness, and shared sacrifice. Without these, a people are but tenants in their homeland, not true stewards of it.

Consider the story of the American soldiers at Valley Forge. Hungry, barefoot, and frostbitten, they endured a winter of suffering not for personal gain, but for the hope of liberty. They bore the burden of hunger and cold so that generations to come might walk free. Their patriotism was not cheap; it was paid in blood and bone, in sleepless nights and aching stomachs. And though many perished, their sacrifice breathed life into the fragile dream of a new nation. From their hardship, America emerged stronger.

Nor is the burden always carried on the battlefield. During the Second World War, citizens at home rationed sugar and gasoline, planted victory gardens, and poured their sweat into factories. Mothers, fathers, and children alike bore their fair share of sacrifice, so that the nation could endure the storm. This, too, was true patriotism—a willingness to give up ease for the sake of a greater tomorrow. They did not call it grand, but it was grand indeed.

The lesson is as sharp today as it was in the past: beware the cheap imitation of patriotism that demands nothing and gives nothing. To simply claim loyalty, while refusing to contribute, is to mock the very spirit of the nation. A true citizen asks not only, “What do I receive?” but also, “What do I give?” For only in the balance of both can a nation remain whole. Burden shared is burden lightened, and it is by this sharing that communities and countries grow strong.

Therefore, take these teachings into your own life. Pay your fair share, whether in taxes that maintain roads and schools, or in service that uplifts your neighbors. Speak truth when lies would corrode the public good. Lend your strength to the common cause, even when it asks for sacrifice. Let your patriotism be lived in deeds: volunteering, voting, working with honor, and defending justice when it falters. These are the burdens that keep the heart of a nation beating.

Do not shrink from this path, for though it is hard, it is worthy. Remember always: true patriotism isn’t cheap—it costs time, sweat, comfort, and sometimes even life itself. Yet in paying this price, you purchase not only the survival of your homeland but also the dignity of being counted among those who gave, and gave honestly. To carry the burden is to stand in the great river of history, shoulder to shoulder with those who built and preserved the nation before you.

Thus, let Reich’s words burn within you as both warning and call: if you love your land, prove it not with noise but with labor; not with empty praise but with shared responsibility. And when your days are weighed, may it be said of you—you bore your fair share of the burden, and by so doing, you kept the dream alive.