On Patriotism
Copyright © 2005 by Rodney G. Graves, all rights reserved.
There has been a lot of discussion, debate, and rhetoric of late concerning patriotism and the lack thereof.
Regrettably, we must start with a definition, as the abusers of the English Language have been busy attempting to treat patriot and jingoist as synonyms.
pa·tri·ot·ism: Love of and devotion to one's country.
A simple definition, really. Do we need to examine the definitions of “love” and “devotion” as well? I would hope not… Let us proceed with this as our working definition of patriotism.
We thus see that a patriot (one demonstrating patriotism) loves and is devoted to his or her county. In my estimation, this extends to the point of sacrificing one’s own life and liberties in the interests, and defense, of one’s country.
Stephen Decatur once proposed the toast “Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong.” This is frequently seen in the somewhat corrupted form, “My Country, may she ever be right, but right or wrong, my country.“ Some might claim (indeed some have) that this is an oversimplification of a complex world. They would assert, and indeed have asserted, that such un-questioning patriotism is more akin to jingoism.
This un-questioning patriotism is true to our definition in that it is an expression of love and devotion to one’s country. Such unquestioning devotion can and has been used in the furtherance of causes both just and unjust, moral and immoral. It is the abuse of this form of patriotism which Samuel Johnston characterized as “…the last refuge of a scoundrel.”
Can one then love their country while recognizing that, as a human institution, our country can be wrong? Certainly. Would anyone who has seriously read from the history of these United States seriously claim that our history does not include incidents both wrong and egregiously wrong? I certainly wouldn’t. Let us then define the rational patriot as those who recognize these flaws and who love their country no less for them.
This rational patriotism was perhaps best related by Senator Carl Schurz as: “Our country right or wrong. When right, to be kept right; when wrong, to be put right.” The unstated underpinning here is that a patriot, while recognizing a wrong on the part of his beloved nation, works to convince his fellow citizens of that error and to correct it. (more...)
There has been a lot of discussion, debate, and rhetoric of late concerning patriotism and the lack thereof.
Regrettably, we must start with a definition, as the abusers of the English Language have been busy attempting to treat patriot and jingoist as synonyms.
pa·tri·ot·ism: Love of and devotion to one's country.
A simple definition, really. Do we need to examine the definitions of “love” and “devotion” as well? I would hope not… Let us proceed with this as our working definition of patriotism.
We thus see that a patriot (one demonstrating patriotism) loves and is devoted to his or her county. In my estimation, this extends to the point of sacrificing one’s own life and liberties in the interests, and defense, of one’s country.
Stephen Decatur once proposed the toast “Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations, may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong.” This is frequently seen in the somewhat corrupted form, “My Country, may she ever be right, but right or wrong, my country.“ Some might claim (indeed some have) that this is an oversimplification of a complex world. They would assert, and indeed have asserted, that such un-questioning patriotism is more akin to jingoism.
This un-questioning patriotism is true to our definition in that it is an expression of love and devotion to one’s country. Such unquestioning devotion can and has been used in the furtherance of causes both just and unjust, moral and immoral. It is the abuse of this form of patriotism which Samuel Johnston characterized as “…the last refuge of a scoundrel.”
Can one then love their country while recognizing that, as a human institution, our country can be wrong? Certainly. Would anyone who has seriously read from the history of these United States seriously claim that our history does not include incidents both wrong and egregiously wrong? I certainly wouldn’t. Let us then define the rational patriot as those who recognize these flaws and who love their country no less for them.
This rational patriotism was perhaps best related by Senator Carl Schurz as: “Our country right or wrong. When right, to be kept right; when wrong, to be put right.” The unstated underpinning here is that a patriot, while recognizing a wrong on the part of his beloved nation, works to convince his fellow citizens of that error and to correct it. (more...)
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