What is Patriotism?
by Kelly
As an American citizen, I have decided to compile a brief list of what I think the major misconceptions of patriotism are:
According to many, you are only a TRUE patriot if…
1. you think our government can do no wrong (at least in terms of foreign policy)
2. you’re religious and/or Christian
3. you speak English as your primary language
4. you wear a flag pin to political rallies
5. your favorite right is the right to bear arms
6. you are pro-death penalty
7. you believe that the Pledge of Allegiance is something our FOUNDING FATHERS wrote, so anyone who refuses to say it or has a problem with the mention of God must not be a patriot
8. you refer to what the FOUNDING FATHERS would have wanted as if it is gospel
Now, here is the reality, folks:
1. the government can and does fuck up (cough, Iraq, cough)
2. there is no official American religion
3. there is also no official American language
4. freedom of expression ring a bell?
5. the right to bear arms is important because it allows citizens to defend themselves against their own government (I doubt the FOUNDING FATHERS were thinking we would end up terrorizing each other)
6. as the “most progressive country” in the world, don’t you think it’s barbaric that we still have the death penalty?
7. The Pledge of Allegiance was written in the 19th century. The words “one nation under God” were added in the 1950′s to weed out potential communists. The FOUNDING FATHERS had jack shit to do with it. Furthermore, they were fans of the separation of church and state. Hmmm…
8. Guess what? The FOUNDING FATHERS created the Constitution so that it could be amended in the future. Times change, values change, and it’s important to re-evaluate our social contract at least ONCE a century! Change is good. You like progress don’t you? You don’t like progress!? You are anti-American!!
Any other misconceptions you can think of? Please share in the comment section.
- Dollface
Your definition fits mine to a tee.
I found your blog recently through your comments on another and I really enjoy your take on politics and feminism. Keep up the good work!
Haha, love it!
The first other misconception that came to mind for me is that many people believe that you have to have strong convictions directly in line with a certain political party (it’s usually Republicans, who think you’re not a patriot unless you support their ideals, but I’m sure there’s at least one example from the left that someone could use to make me look like an ass) in order to be a patriot. Many seem to think that Democrats and Republicans were always around and have been a staple of America forever when it’s actually a more recent thing, comparatively… Most people know that George Washington opposed the idea of political parties, but mentioning any other party (Whig, Populist, Democratic Republican, etc.) to the average person gets a priceless expression of complete befuddlement.
patriotism — committing to one’s view of what america should be rather than what it is. i think that’s a pretty fitting definition, don’t you? (:
I’m not going to address your specific points, because that’s not the heart of the matter. I agree that most of the time “patriot” is a word used to manipulate people. Patriotism is love for one’s country, nothing more or less.
“When you love a thing, its gladness is a reason for loving it, and its sadness a reason for loving it more. All optimistic thoughts about England and all pessimistic thoughts about England are alike reasons for the English patriot.” -G.K. Chesterton
Just like loving a person, loving a country doesn’t mean a certain set of beliefs. It means really caring. An interest in politics at all is probably a sign of patriotism, regardless of your “side.”
It’s mostly Republicans that use the word in an underhanded way. Liberals tend to use a different word, though, for similar purposes: “progressive.” Progressive implies not only change but improvement. Therefore it implies conservatives must be “against things getting better.” An idea which is equally silly and manipulative.
Patriotism has never been, is not, and never will be a synonym for jingoism.
The pledge of allegiance really took hold when the American public wanted to show those commie bastards, what America is all about. It didn’t become a requirement in the U.S. until 1942. And even back then it rubbed some people the wrong way (see Minersville School District v. Gobitis).
“Under God” didn’t come into it until 1954.
Similarly, “In God we trust” became the national motto 1956.
Those years are rather interesing aren’t they?
The right to bear arms, at least in its original context where defense from the government was the issue, is a logical fallacy in today’s terms.
I’d like to invite someone to investigate the odds of survival for even 100 – 200 heavily armed citizens against just one Apache gunship.
As for the founding fathers and their religious views…
I think Jefferson probably put it best :
And for the record… Note to all Christian zelots:
God does not approve of “murder”; not “killing”. God has, on many occasions in the past, given his blessing for the destruction of life. Including, pregnant mothers and their unborn, women, children, the elderly and the infirm. But it’s all cool, because they deserved it.
I gotta admit, that’s a pretty good definition s.x.
I’m glad someone brought up that the phrase “under god” not being added until way later. It’s infuriating to be disrespected because I think it’ inappropriate to have a religious reference in a country with freedom of religion.
just going along with how our founding fathers were for separation of church and state… there’s proof that they weren’t christian at all. some were deists, some were atheists, but theres quite a few anti-christian quotes from them on the books. info here: http://freethought.mbdojo.com/foundingfathers.html
I think the version of patriotism most subscribe to now is a postmodern version of the word. More so, your definition can be attributed to the word as early as the 80′s but beforhand I’d like to think there were more freethinkers and historians rather than sheep.
It’s true that Americans aren’t very bright (blanket generalization here sorry), seem to tune out on complicated subjects such as anythign to do with banking or oil or politics in general, and are easily manipulated as a result.
All we can do is try to keep our minds free of mental chains they thrust upon us and not believe all the misconceptions as gospel.