Photo by David Leong
With Veterans Day celebrated this month, patriotic symbols will be evident in the area. 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 the U.S. 280 corridor, November means flags on porches, students preparing for assemblies, listening to veterans sing a capella at the Hoover Library Theatre and neighbors lining the streets for Birmingham’s Veterans Day parade — the oldest in the country.
But this year, as the United States prepares to celebrate its 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 Hoover?
We invited veterans, first responders, civic leaders and neighbors from across Hoover 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 experience — they just asked us to listen.
McFarland
“It’s a willingness to put forth extra effort to ensure my neighbor is taken care of,” said Matthew McFarland, a firefighter and paramedic who serves the U.S. 280 area of Hoover. “It’s holding myself and those that represent me accountable to a certain ethos.”
Signs of patriotism are easy to spot. There’s “Flag Man” Roy Brook waving Old Glory along U.S 280 near Interstate 459 or the Veterans Celebration at Highlands College on Grandview, lapel pins worn proudly and hands over hearts during the national anthem. Some say patriotism is about tradition. Others point to actions like voting, volunteering or making conscious life choices that align with your values.
Photo by Jon Anderson
Members of the Howlin’ Mad Smith Detachment of the U.S. Marine Corps League re-enact the famous raising of a U.S. flag during the invasion of the Japanese island of Iwo Jima in February 1945 during a Veterans Memorial paver dedication ceremony at the 2018 Celebrate Hoover Day at Veterans Park in Hoover in April 2018.
“To me it starts with supporting your local businesses and anything made in America,” said Axana Foster, a health coach and personal chef in Hoover. “We should support and help each other, especially in times of need. That’s why I think local places of worship are the pillars of any community.”
Burford
For retired Maj. Gen. David Burford of Greystone, patriotism is grounded in lifelong service.
“Patriotism is the faith of self-sacrifice that you will join something bigger than you are; 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 Alabama Army National Guard. He became an Army Ranger and a Green Beret. He 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 and has been known to point out improper flag-flying protocol to local businesses.
“There’s always room for differences,” he said. “But there’s no room for violence — not to push your position or resist someone else’s.”
Petitt
Hoover resident David Petitt, a retired educator who now works in retail, flies a lighted American flag in his yard 24/7. He sees patriotism as something personal and vital.
“I believe America is not a place, rather an idea — that we have God-given rights. In America, we are free to exercise those rights,” he said. “To me, patriotism is actively protecting those rights to ensure they’re afforded to our children.”
Dr. Shannon Layton, Coast Guard veteran and UAB associate professor of nursing, said patriotism also means advocating for veterans and youth to ensure those foundational values continue.
Layton
“I dedicate myself to ensuring our youth are able to attend Boys and Girls State, coordinating the American Legion Oratorical Contest and helping ensure our nation’s veterans are getting quality care,” Layton said. “Looking out for fellow veterans who place their lives on the line to ensure our freedoms is one of the biggest ways I try to demonstrate my patriotism.”
Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones said that 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, who lives in Mountain Brook and served in the Senate from 2018 to 2021. “They are patriotic. They are devoted to this country. They just have different philosophies about how things should be run.”
He added that the military is a place where Americans of differing views serve side-by-side out of devotion to country.
Shepherd
Fred Shepherd, a political science professor at Samford University in Homewood, said the long history of American partisanship and public discourse includes cycles of intense division. But there’s usually a point where people step back.
“If you look back at history, you can see a pretty strong tradition of this kind of thing in various forms, decade after decade, century after century, the willingness to demonize the opposition,” 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 voices often dominate 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,” he said. “But as Mick Jagger says, ‘If you try sometime, you just might get what you need.’”
Layton added that patriotism, like any relationship, requires care and attention.
“If you do not foster an appreciation for something or someone, you can end up taking it for granted,” she said. “Your relationship with your country deserves a little attention.”
Throughout these conversations, a theme came through: Patriotism isn’t a slogan. It isn’t a bumper sticker.
It’s something you live. And sometimes, the most patriotic thing you can do is simply listen.
“Patriotism for America is as strong or as weak as the people allow,” said Petitt. “The beauty of our country is that it allows us to all be important — and there is room to talk and find more similarities than differences. Being different adds a more pleasant design to the fabric of America.”
