Nation’s patriotism still high after Sept. 11 peak

In the tense, early days after 9-11, several diner patrons in Somerville, Mass., began a spontaneous rendition of “The StarSpangled Banner.” The rest of the customers and the restaurant staff joined in.

Children in North Carolina set up a lemonade stand, charging $20 a cup, with the proceeds dedicated to disaster relief. They raised $1,000 their first day.

American flags were hoisted block after block, and Old Glory’s suppliers couldn’t keep up with demand.

But the wave of patriotism that swept across the United States after the terrorist attacks is no longer quite so evident. A survey by pollster Frank Luntz showed 37 percent of the nation’s youth would seek to evade a draft if called for military service. Economic woes slipped into the public’s consciousness as families took up the never-ending task of making ends meet, displacing patriotism on the agenda.

Still, the stirring feeling lingers in the views of some who make patriotism their business.

“The embers may be down but the pilot light is lit,” said Nick Smith, founder of the National Museum of Patriotism in Atlanta. “All you have to do is turn on the gas and it’s going to roar.”

Marty Justice, director of the Americanism division for the American Legion, said he believes evidence shows the patriotic fervor remains strong.

“The flag is still very prominent across America,” he said. “The flag is a symbol for all we stand for. And, in the particular case of Sept. 11, what we won’t stand for.”

The American Legion is the nation’s second-biggest flag seller, behind only Wal-Mart, and requests remain strong, Justice said.

President Bush, in a Fourth of July radio address, said events after 9-11 proved “American patriotism is still a living faith.”

“We love our country, only more when she is threatened,” Bush said. “America is the most diverse nation on earth. Yet, in a moment we discovered again that we are a single people; we share the same allegiance, we live under the same flag — and when you strike one American, you strike us all.”