The media, lately, has been obsessed with the definition of patriotism. Confining it to the wearing of a flag pin or having previously been a prisoner of war is too prescriptive. Patriotism is not defined by a single action, but a conglomeration of actions that form a cause and define a lifetime.

Both Obama and McCain are patriots. There’s not doubt about it. They’ve simply chosen to reflect their patriotism in different ways. From the moment we begin to learn and figure things out for ourselves, those around us encourage creativity and enforce the idea that there’s no one, single way to achieve something. The methods of achievement may vary in their effectiveness, but there are, without a doubt, many possible combinations that result in the same outcome.

And that’s the point we’ve reached regarding patriotism. Yet, as we’ve become adults, we forget that differences are uniting; we forget our childhood lessons that encouraged exploration and personal redefinition. If not for this driving characteristic, Einstein would never have discovered the influence of gravity on light and would not have correctly overturned thousands of years of physical history and commonly held beliefs. It’s this daring redefinition, the exploration of a space thought well understood, that resulted in arguably the greatest rediscovery of our time.

The idea that either candidate’s personal definition of patriotism is right or wrong goes against this very characteristic. Each person has the right to define patriotism in the context of their own strengths and weaknesses. That right is inalienable. It was provided by the founders via the constitution because they recognized that staying ahead means constantly rethinking the present situation in many different ways.

Ultimately, it is up to the American people to decide which manifestation of patriotism appeals to them the most. That’s the beauty of our democracy: win or lose, you have a right to voice your opinion. But the media has been using their power to influence people’s opinions on these issues. They have the great responsibility of oversight, of informing the American people of the facts. They were designed to be a medium for information. Unfortunately, they’ve lost sight of that goal. In the face of capitalism, where revenue and profits are driven by subscribers and viewers who are, in turn, interested in nothing but being stimulated, they’ve catered their reporting to ideals and extremes, often ignoring the facts.

Whose fault is it, then? Do we blame the citizens of America for their general sense of apathy towards politics and civics? Or do we blame the media for feeding the people misinformation because it’s titilating? Or maybe we don’t blame anyone at all and instead focus on new, disrupting technologies that are, once again, democratizing information and knowledge: namely, the Internet. Its impact was already been seen in 16-month Democratic primary and continues to be the foundation on which the Obama campaign builds all of its efforts.

Patriotism, to me, is constantly exploring how to make this country better. There are both micro and macro representations of this. A steel worker putting in extra hours to make more money is being a patriot by giving more to corporate America and giving more money back into the economy. A teacher is being a patriot by choosing to show up every day to educate the children of this country in the hope that they will be the next Albert Einstein or Bill Gates.

Instead of calling out the differences in the presidential candidate’s versions of patriotism, the media would best serve the country by positively pointing out the fact that both are patriotic in different ways. By encouraging us to be unique, to embrace our own ideals and preferences and to use those to keep America on the cutting edge of science and technology, human rights, philanthropy, business and education. America needs a lot of fuel, our thoughts and energy, to keep going. Patriotism is using your thoughts and energy, in an infinite number of creative and different ways, for this very purpose.