Patriot or insurrectionist?

A few years ago, I visited the home of John Brown, an abolitionist who was executed in 1859 for leading a slave uprising and a raid against the U.S. government arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Our tour guide explained that Brown was so firmly committed to his cause of abolishing slavery that he saw all his actions as righteous. But many historians today consider Brown an insurrectionist and terrorist. It got me thinking about whether the end always justifies the means and also about what makes someone a patriot.

Though he was a deeply religious man, Brown stopped at nothing, including murder, to free slaves throughout the country. He felt that the promise of America, as set forth in our Constitution, was that all men are created equal. And if violence was the only way to achieve his goal, then that was the path he would take. For him, the end justified the means.

The first American patriots date back to our Revolutionary War in the 18th century. These men rose up against the British colonial government and fought to establish a sovereign nation. Every American schoolchild learns to respect these men as role models to whom we owe a debt of gratitude. If not for their courage and commitment, there would be no United States of America today. Nobody questions their patriotism.

But where's the line between a patriot and an insurrectionist? According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, a patriot is "a person who loves his or her country and is ready to boldly support and defend it." The patriots of 1776 wanted to create a new country rather than live under British rule. A similar situation occurred during our Civil War. People in the South decided to create a new country - the Confederate States of America - rather than remain part of a nation committed to abolishing slavery.

This is where the definition of patriots gets tricky. If people revolt against their own government, are they patriots? It comes down to who is defining the word "patriot." We have groups in America today who are sometimes violent in their efforts to install a government that aligns with their vision for this country.

On January 6, 2021, more than 2,000 of them invaded the Capitol in Washington, D.C., leaving a trail of death and destruction. Convinced that the newly elected president (Biden) represented a danger to our country, they battled to keep him from taking power. Are they patriots fighting to save the nation, as they will tell you, or insurrectionists trying to overthrow the results of a free and fair election?

It seems that the definition simply comes down to which side you are on.