Patriotism

Patriotism is the big word nowadays to be thrown around. Americans are great at claiming their own patriotism while chiding others who disagree for not having any. But what is a patriotic act in reality? That, too, is subject to the person making the assumption.
Class warfare seems to be making a serious comeback nowadays. It never really left. Even the Founding Fathers were involved in class warfare. They felt that some in the country wouldn't be able to make good decisions, so they structured the government in such a way that only "certain" people could serve. That was how they saw it.
Then in the Gilded Age we saw the rise of the "robber baron". One of those was J.P. Morgan. Morgan was wealtheir than the U.S. at the time of the Panic of 1907. Teddy Roosevelt was president and had spent much time during his presidency trying to curb the power and financial assets of Morgan. The two disliked each other intensely.
None of that mattered, though, when the government almost shut down due to lack of funds. Despite the fact that Roosevelt had spent many years trying to break his economic power, J.P. Morgan agreed to help out with cash and investments that kept the country afloat.
Could that happen today? Doubtful. Partly because the system changed with the establishment of the federal reserve system in 1913, but also because our "philanthropists" of today are more interested in their own pocketbook than in helping the country.
J.P. Morgan didn't care about that, though. He put aside his personal differences with a man who had vowed to break his stranglehold on financial institutions and agreed to use those assets to keep the U.S afloat.
No matter what we read about or think of the robber barons of yesteryear, we need only remember that they were not afraid to put personal ambition aside and work for the good of Americans as a whole. That is true patriotism.