Is Patriotism a Good Thing?

[deborahjross]

On first seeing this, several thoughts came up. The first was, "Sure, I'll download it and splash it all over my social media sites; go get 'em, ACLU." The second was, "Since when is this new?" With a bit of "I'm sure lots of other people with whom I'm networked will be putting it up" (and I have an aversion to "me-too-ism").

I found myself staring at the words. Dissent is fine. Diversity is even better. But Patriotism?

Is patriotism (aggrandized by capitalization) a good thing? Hasn't that been the rallying cry for wars resulting in millions upon millions of deaths over the years? Isn't that the bludgeon to enforce social conformity and unquestioning allegiance -- "my country, right or wrong"? Since when does a nation command -- not inspire, not evoke, not request, but demand blind loyalty?

Isn't that a form of idolatry?

Comments

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

I don't think patriotism is blind loyalty, though certain groups over the years like to insist that it is. Patriotism is love of one's country, and helping to make the country better. Like loving a child and correcting the child to help her grow into a good adult, loving a country doesn't mean accepting all its faults without trying to direct them into a better path.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately the people screaming loudest that they are PATRIOTS!!!!! are also the strongest supporters of principles that this country was founded to oppose, and the worst haters of anyone who is not exactly like them.

It's like saints and wise ones and heroes. The ones who make the most noise about being those things are the least likely to be telling the truth.

I'm enough of a child of the Sixties to be creeped out by the "My Country Right Or Wrong" crowd. The word "patriotism" has been coopted to the point that it no longer has its broader or (imho) truer meaning. Now it means jingoism and narrow-minded ignorance while waving the flag and hating on the Other of the week.

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

Me, too, child of the 60s. I wonder if I would have reacted to the slogan if I hadn't been through umpteen years of protesting HUAC, Viet Nam, etc., etc.

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

Thinking about what you wrote, I realized that I make a distinction between participating wholeheartedly and in a way that is true to who I am and what I value and allowing the institutions of a political entity to define me.

I found that when I lived in France, I was terrifically proud of being American at the same time as being outraged by the actions of the US government (this was 1991/first Gulf War). So perhaps it would be fair to say that if patriotism is a shared enthusiasm for the ideals of equality, diversity, and opportunity, then sign me up!

[gmdreia.livejournal.com]

I think the problem isn't patriotism, but its conflation with nationalism.

[deborahjross.livejournal.com]

Great point!

[http://users.livejournal.com/la_marquise_de_/]

I dislike both patriotism and nationalism. Neither seem to cause anything but harm in the long run. It is a form of idolatry, and a lazy bigoted one, at that.