A Cause Greater Than Self Analysis

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“The good citizen and patriot knows happiness is greater than comfort, more sublime than pleasure,” conveyed John McCain in his essay, A Cause Greater Than Self. He wrote this article in year two thousand eight when TIME magazine asked presidential candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama for their views on what patriotism means. They both sent in opinions: A Faith In Simple Dreams, by Barack Obama and A Cause Greater Than Self, by John McCain. Even though they wrote regarding the same topic, the way they approached it and the points they highlighted, barely overlapped. One of the main differences in their writings is their attitude towards patriotism. In McCain’s essay, he used the phrase, “[we] must do our smaller and less dangerous part …show more content…

McCain’s article features the things that American citizens should give to their nation to demonstrate proper patriotism. For example, in the second paragraph of his article, he explained how Americans coming together in “families, churches, synagogues, museums, symphonies, the Little League, the Boy Scouts, the Girl Scouts, the Salvation Army or the VFW” is a representation of patriotism. Through listing these examples of patriotism, he is giving his reader options of what he or she could do to become a patriot. Another example is when he says, “If you find faults with our country, make it a better one. If you are disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks and work to correct them.” by making this point, he is informing people to contribute to fixing problems they find in their society to make their country a better place. On the other hand, in A faith in simple dreams, Obama focuses on things America gave its citizens that makes them become loyal patriots. One example he gives is the freedoms Americans have: “the idea that we can tuck in our children at night and know that they are fed and clothed and safe from harm; that we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden knock on the door; that we can have an idea and start our own business without paying a bribe” etc. By saying this, Obama implies that freedoms

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