Photo by David Leong
With Veterans Day celebrated this month, patriotic symbols will be evident in the city. But how do we live patriotically in daily life here at home? Local residents say true patriotism is about actions and in how we treat our neighbors.
In Mountain Brook, November means flags on porches, students and parents lining the street to salute veterans at Crestline Elementary, or placing wreaths at the Alabama Veterans Memorial Park.
But this year, as the United States approaches its 250th anniversary in 2026, we wanted to ask a personal question: What does patriotism mean to you and how do you live it, here in our community?
We invited veterans and neighbors from across the city to share their reflections. Not about politics. Not about headlines. But about daily life — what they believe, how they act and how we might all find common ground through love of country, even when we disagree.
Their answers weren’t political. They weren’t rehearsed. They came from daily life — they just asked us to listen.
Signs of patriotism are easy to spot across the community. Students prepare for assemblies and neighbors lining the streets for Birmingham’s Veterans Day parade — the oldest in the country. Some say patriotism is about tradition: wearing red, white and blue, standing for the national anthem or pausing on patriotic holidays to reflect. Others point to actions like voting, volunteering or showing common kindness.
Bickert
“Patriotism means taking care of our neighbors and honoring the sacrifice of the people who have worked to give us our freedom,” said Perrin Bickert, a Mountain Brook dietitian and mother of elementary-age twins. “It means acknowledging and addressing both the strengths and shortcomings of our community to work towards a more just and equitable local and larger society.”
Bickert said her family votes in every election, supports local events and helps others whenever possible.
“When we can’t give our time, we support sustainable local programs financially,” she said. “We also talk about this with our kids — we want to teach them to be proud of our country while instilling a responsibility to foster positive change.”
The people we spoke to didn’t all define it the same way. They had different views and opposing ideologies. But they all talked about how they try to live it.
Dodge
Ty Dodge, 80, a Mountain Brook resident and Vietnam veteran, served three years in the U.S. Army and earned three Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart. Today, he flies a large five-by-eight-foot flag in his yard, speaks to schools and groups about Vietnam and displays a regimental patch on his car to connect with others who served.
“As I see what’s swirling around us right now, I see a lack of loyalty to our country,” said Dodge, the former CEO of RealtySouth. “I don’t see as much pride in our country that we used to have. And maybe it’s not as much personal responsibility for the welfare of our community and our country.”
He said Veterans Day and other national holidays are important because they force people to reflect. “We tend to think about it more when it’s in front of us, and that’s one of the good things about having national holidays,” Dodge said. “I think we’ve lost sight of the meaning of a lot of those things.”
Dodge also voiced concern about how people treat one another. “We’ve gotten to a point where if you don’t think the way I do, then I can’t like you,” he said. “We can’t disagree agreeably. Social media is a big part of this. It feeds us more of what we already believe and people feel emboldened to be rude or cruel behind anonymity. There’s not so much a desire to have decorum and be gracious anymore.”
Burford
For retired Maj. Gen. David Burford of Greystone, patriotism is lived in the things he does daily to support the love of country reflected in his military service.
“Patriotism is the faith of self-sacrifice, that you’ll join something bigger than yourself. It’s a love of country,” Burford said. “I’m very frustrated with the condition of the country. But everybody has to be able to speak up. That’s what this freedom is all about, the freedom to disagree.”
Burford served a combined 38 years in the active Army, the Army Reserve and the Alabama Army National Guard. He became an Army Ranger and a Green Beret and was deployed as a special forces operative just after 9/11. Today, he helps organize Birmingham’s Veterans Day parade as vice president of the National Veterans Day Foundation. He’s also known for correcting businesses across the area that improperly display the flag, based on the U.S. Flag Code.
“There’s always room for differences,” Burford added. “But there’s no room for violence, not to push your position or resist someone else’s.”
Burdette
Amy Burdette of Crestline is frustrated with much of what she sees right now and is looking for a way people can find more common ground.
“Everyone seems to be so divisive and hateful when differing (in) opinions. We need to respect one another,” she said. “Patriotism helps the overall happiness and morale of the country’s citizens, which then helps society and the economy. It’s all connected.”
Doug Jones of Mountain Brook served his country as a U.S. Senator from 2018-21. He said patriotism should be non-partisan.
Jones
“I truly believe there are Republicans, Democrats, independents, people of all races and religions, who love this country,” said Jones, a longtime civil rights attorney. “They are patriotic. They are devoted to this country. They just have different philosophies about how things should be run.”
He said the military remains one of the clearest examples of unity in service.
Fred Shepherd, a political science professor at Samford University in Homewood, said division isn’t new.
Shepherd
“If you look back at history, you see a strong tradition of demonizing the opposition, sometimes without much nuance,” he said. “But there’s usually a corrective moment when people realize things have gone too far.”
While headlines and social media often amplify the loudest and most extreme voices, several people we spoke with said they don’t see that kind of division in their day-to-day lives.
Jones said those loudest voices often drive the conversation, but “that’s not mainstream.”
He said the real work of patriotism often happens through quiet efforts to listen, collaborate and give ground when needed.
“We’ve really got to focus a little bit more on how we can work together to achieve goals, knowing that we can’t always get what we want,” Jones said. “But as Mick Jagger says, ‘If you try sometime, you just might get what you need.’”
In the end, the people we spoke to shared the same sentiment: That patriotism is something you live. And sometimes, the most patriotic thing you can do is simply listen.
Bickert, the dietician and mom, said patriotism also means we care about what comes next.
“It unites us,” she said. “Being proud of our country, and honest about its potential, motivates people to work toward a better, more inclusive future. True patriotism means recognizing where we need to improve so that all communities can thrive together.”
Darden
Retired Army Maj. Gen. James Darden of Mountain Brook, a Vietnam veteran who served in the U.S. Army, U.S. Army Reserve and the Missouri National Guard, hopes people consider Veterans Day as more than simply a day off or an occasion to party.
“At a minimum, stop and reflect on that neighbor down the street, on that co-worker, on that relative that served,” said Darden, 81. “You don’t have to get out and run up and down the street waving the flag. You’ve just got to have patriotism in your heart. We’re having a watering down of our values, I think, as Americans. And I think this country is still worth fighting for. This is still the greatest place on earth.”
