As Independence Day approaches and we celebrate our 248th anniversary, I find myself thinking, as I often do, about the importance of patriotism.
When I speak of patriotism, I do not mean the way it is distorted by political parties, but primarily love of party. It is simply, as Merriam-Webster defines it, “love or devotion to one’s country.”
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy points out that Stephen Nathanson, in a 1993 paper on the subject, “defines patriotism as: special affection for one’s country, a feeling of personal identification with the country, special concern for the country’s welfare, a willingness to make sacrifices for the good of the country.” This can undoubtedly include both pride in a country’s achievements and shame over its known failings or crimes, says Stanford.
So no, you don’t have to be so loudly “Rah-rah, USA” that you ignore the sins of slavery, Manifest Destiny, discrimination, and other problems to be a patriot. A patriot who wants the best for his country wants it to grow, take responsibility for its mistakes, and be better for future generations. Patriotism is not blind love; hooray patriotism, an extreme form of patriotism, is best described by the phrase “My country, right or wrong.”
And nationalism… oh dear.
George Orwell (whose novels I can listen to, but whose journalistic and political commentary I absolutely must read) wrote: “Nationalism is not to be confused with patriotism. Both words are usually used so vaguely that any definition is open to question, but one must distinguish between them, as they are two different and even opposite ideas. By ‘patriotism’ I mean devotion to a particular place and a particular way of life which one considers to be the best in the world, but which one does not wish to impose on other people. Patriotism is inherently defensive, both militarily and culturally. Nationalism, on the other hand, is inseparable from the desire for power. The abiding aim of every nationalist is to acquire more power and more prestige, not for himself, but for the nation or other entity into which he wishes to infuse his own individuality.”
This last point is dangerously close to what our major political parties have become, which is why I don’t belong to any party. What has been lost in the parties is what is best for the country. It has been replaced by what is best for a small group of people who don’t necessarily have our best interests at heart, but as long as they get their way, everything is bright and sunny… for the people who join them.
As I often do when speaking of patriotism, I invoke the wise words of former President Theodore Roosevelt, who wrote in a May 1918 essay in the Metropolitan Magazine about then-President Woodrow Wilson’s war effort: “Patriotism means standing by the country. It does not mean standing by the President or any other official except to the extent that he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him to the extent that he serves the country efficiently. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the extent that he fails, by inefficiency or otherwise, in his duty to stand by the country. In any case, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth – whether about the President or about anyone else – except on those rare occasions when doing so would bring to the knowledge of the enemy information of military value which he would otherwise be ignorant of. …”
“One form of subservience consists in a slavish attitude, incompatible with decent manhood, toward a person who has power by virtue of his office or position. Subservience may be shown by a public servant to the profit-hungry head of a large corporation or to the anti-American head of a large labor union. It may also be shown in a particularly pernicious and un-American form by confusing the President or other public official with the country and crying, ‘Stand with the President,’ without regard to whether or not we stand with the country by this conduct.”
Teddy never minced his words.
I think most of us are probably patriotic. We love this country and the opportunities it offers us, while still recognizing that the United States of America is far from perfect. There are still enormous wealth disparities, barriers to full participation in the American experiment, and too much hostility toward “the other.” Does addressing these things mean we don’t love our country?
No, it just means we know it can be better. No American should have to fight for the same basic rights as everyone else, like marriage, children, work, and education. And yet the hard-won rights of some segments of the population are under threat.
One more tip: For heaven’s sake, leave the fireworks to the professionals. You are not only risking your life, limb and property, but also the peace in your neighborhood (some of us have to work in the morning).
Your neighbors and their animals will thank you. Not to mention your insurance agent.
Assistant Editor Brenda Looper is the Voices editor. You can reach her by email at [email protected]. Read her blog at blooper0223.wordpress.com.
