Patriotism

Understanding the meaning of patriotism is important to Abe because he finds it central to his identity. To be of a country means to be of a kind of family, and families work together, nurture each other, and share values. He knows what it means to be a part of the Lincoln family and the state of Kentucky, but not the country. It forces him to think about what he knows in a larger context. This knowledge, along with the words associated with the United States, begin Abe on the path to self-education. Abe questions the meaning of freedom throughout his life. As a child, he mulls over the word “independent,” encountered Lady Liberty, contemplating her meaning, and questions “what it meant that men should march, fight, bleed, go cold and hungry for the sake of what they called ‘freedom’” (41, 143). Abe attempts to untangle the abstract meanings of...