Justin Adie

Mrs Henry
Service Learning Period 4
14 April 2016
Laws of Life
There are many laws of life that I adhere to. From compassion to patriotism, the
traits I live by have helped to make me who I am. In the words of John Adams, Our
obligations to our country never cease but with our lives. In other words, our patriotism
as American citizens should never stop until we die.
There is one individual in particular who has helped shaped my sense of
patriotism. This individual is my grandfather. He served the United States for 27 years in
the United States Coast Guard, reaching the rank of Commander. In these 27 years, he
served overseas in Vietnam and and in various other posts stateside. He has shaped
my patriotism by instilling into me that this country is the best to offer on this planet, and
that the amount of freedoms it has to offer are unparalleled. When it comes to my own
experiences, my studies in history have shaped my sense of patriotism greatly. The
sacrifices made by all the men and women, from the time of the Revolutionary War to
the modern wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have inspired me. These people made
sacrifices defending one of the things that makes this country great: the democratic
process.
There are many ways I could apply my sense of patriotism in the world. To me,
the most important act of patriotism is voting. Voting for the elected officials has many
implications on every citizen in their respective areas, whether it be at the local or

national level. Personally, I believe that if a person can vote, but they choose not to,
then they dont have the right to complain. Community service is also an important
aspect of patriotism, as it is also relevant to being active in the community, just as voting
is. Being an active community contributor is crucial, as simple acts of kindness can
make a massive difference in the lives of others. Not only does it affect others positively,
but it can affect the giver in a positive way, too.
There are ways I can prepare myself to live out my law of life. For one, I need to
register as a voter before the 2016 presidential election so that I have the ability to take
a role in the election of our nations next president. In order to ensure I am making the
correct choice in terms of voting, I must be educated on the policies and conduct of
each candidate. To do this, I must do a variety of different forms of research, whether it
be reading news articles, or listening to television and radio hosts. I can also prepare for
this by attending higher education courses in history or politics. In the words of George
Santayana, Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it. How do
these words apply to me and voting? Well, politicians in general rarely create material
that has never been used before in one way or another, and the fiery rhetoric used by
modern-day politicians must be compared that of past ones. In terms of preparing
myself for community service, I can learn about what institutions in the community need
assistance the most, and then go from there.
By writing this paper, I have reinforced something I know about myself, which is
the love I feel for my country. It always saddens me to hear about bad events happening
to our men and women serving abroad. I also love it when citizens throughout the

country band together during rough times, and how Americans are so charitable
towards one another.