Happy birthday, USA! The country received millions of gifts for its 228th birthday Sunday. Some gave it drunkenness, and others, fireworks. Some expressed their feelings by waving a flag. Do these actions alone — drinking, setting off fireworks and flag-waving — truly encapsulate patriotism? The answer to that question is most definitely not.

Anyone can wave a flag. If John Walker Lindh (also known as “American Taliban”) waved the flag, would he be a patriot? Of course not. Loving one’s country is no different than loving a person — saying “I love you” sure is nice, but in the end, actions speak louder than words. Thus patriotism falls back to what one does for fellow citizens.

Patriotism is chiefly expressed through two channels: politics and community. Political patriots criticize policy because they care and want to see enacted what they believe are more effective or reasonable policies. However in the last few years, certain people have tried to redefine dissent as un-American, as if participating in our democracy is somehow a bad thing. These people mistakenly believe that the “purity” of government rises and falls with the election of new politicians. Political patriots know better.

Political patriotism is not about subscribing to any specific ideology, but rather it’s about honestly engaging one’s self in the political process with principled, studied positions.

Civil libertarians recognize that the flag stands for civil liberties, and thus patriotism is protecting them. They are the brave men and women who fight for our Constitution despite relentless attack from those who seek to weaken our nation’s foundation. Civil libertarians understand that freedom and democracy make the United States stable and that first-class citizenship is a right of all U.S. citizens.

If civil liberties are the heart and soul of the United States, then our communities represent the physical body. Individuals of all stripes compose our communities.

We come from a wide variety of backgrounds, but we all want to live in peace. Communal patriots recognize the worth in each individual without discrimination or ill will. Communal patriots share solidarity with all community members and reject racism, homophobia and chauvinism as enemies of the community.

Some of these patriots volunteer at schools and domestic abuse shelters. Others cook meals for and eat with the homeless. Some participate in local government. The defining characteristic of communal patriotism is the act of self-sacrifice in order to contribute to the well-being of fellow citizens — most eloquently stated, “From each according to ability, to each according to need.” It is this triumph of the human spirit that defines communal patriotism.

Unfortunately, the Sept. 11 tragedy and its associated politicking have made many people forget what patriotism really is. They think that burning parts of the Constitution and agreeing with whatever politicians tell them expresses “love and devotion” for the United States.

They think that waving a flag proves “love and devotion” for our country, when again, even white supremacists and crooked CEOs can shake the red, white and blue. Using the flag alone as a delineator is as misguided as trusting Enron for business advice. True patriots can wave the flag if they wish, but it isn’t the cloth that makes them who they are.

The belief that patriotism must be coupled with flag-waving is as absurd as the famous concept “if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, no sound is produced.”

Just as the laws of physics are constant (imagine gravity as only optional!), so are the contributions of patriots, whose work cannot be “vanished” into thin air. Don’t buy into the hype.

If you spent your day of patriotism in a drunken stupor, don’t feel bad. Every day can be the Fourth of July — don’t think patriotic expressions must be limited to holidays with symbolic value.

Remember: Real patriots choose action over words.