A Patriot's hat

As I sat in the comfortable chairs in the voting precinct lobby, Asherel and her fellow Kids Voting volunteers manned our booth in the room just down the hall, and tried to lure voters. I wore the duct tape Uncle Sam hat Asherel had made, and drew on my iPod.

The adult voters had to pass me on the way to the voting booths, and many commented on my patriotism in wearing the hat. Ah, if that were all it took to be a patriot, I thought. If being something meaningful were only as easy as putting on and off a hat....the things I would be! Right away, I would put on my "rich and famous" hat. I know that "rich and famous" doesn't guarantee happiness, but I would be delighted to provide some statistical analysis to foster understanding about just how rich one can be and still not happy.

Then I would put on the hat of "perfection".  Really, I would probably need no other hats. I could draw the perfect picture, write the perfect story, love perfectly, pray perfectly, teach perfectly, dust and vacuum perfectly, and the most elusive undertaking of all- floss without breaking the string in between my molars perfectly.

But alas, we all know really that I am not a patriot just because I wear a patriotic hat, anymore than I can attain perfection by wearing my "perfect" hat. Our outsides usually have very little to do with our insides.

As I sat there, in my patriot hat, an old gentleman shuffled over, leaning on his cane. He was huffing and puffing, and he collapsed into the seat beside me while his wife went to bring the car closer for him.
He commented on my hat. He was cheerful, despite obviously being worn out. Earlier, I had been chatting with the precinct judge and knew the voting line had been consistently an hour and a half long all day. The tired man had finally voted.

"How long did you stand in line?" I asked.
"An hour and fifteen minutes!" he said.
"Wow, that's a long time." I observed insightfully.
"It is," he agreed, "But it was a privilege."

I glanced at his cane, and listened to his labored breathing, and thought, now that is a patriot.

Psalm 136: 21
²¹ and gave their land as an inheritance,
            His love endures forever.