Patriotism
Matthew Rothschild wrote an article about patriotism that is, in my opinion, quite interesting. If he intended to piss off many of his fellow Americans, he clearly succeeded. If you look at the comment section, there are only a few people who agree with him. All the others tell him to go find another country to live in, or simply to shut up. Or both.
It’s July 4th again, a day of near-compulsory flag-waving and nation-worshipping. Count me out.
Spare me the puerile parades.
Don’t play that martial music, white boy.
And don’t befoul nature’s sky with your F-16s.
You see, I don’t believe in patriotism.
It’s not that I’m anti-American, but I am anti-patriotic.
Love of country isn’t natural. It’s not something you’re born with. It’s an inculcated kind of love, something that is foisted upon you in the home, in the school, on TV, at church, during the football game.
Yet most people accept it without inspection.
Why?
For when you stop to think about it, patriotism (especially in its malignant morph, nationalism) has done more to stack the corpses millions high in the last 300 years than any other factor, including the prodigious slayer, religion…
Then there’s a little multiplication problem: Can every country be the greatest country in the world?
This belief system magically transforms an accident of birth into some kind of blue ribbon.
“It’s a great country,” said the old Quaker essayist Milton Mayer. “They’re all great countries.”
At times, the appeal to patriotism may be necessary, as when harnessing the group to protect against a larger threat (Hitler) or to overthrow an oppressor (as in the anti-colonial struggles in the Third World).
But it is always a dangerous toxin to play with, and it ought to be shelved with cross and bones on the label except in these most extreme circumstances.
I’m not going to comment on this post myself*; I’m just wondering what you all - most of you are Americans - think about it. Is it insulting? Is the author wrong? If so, why?
* One short comment: as a European I don’t have much sympathy for American Exceptionalism. But that’s logical I presume. Love for one’s own country, however, isn’t necessarily wrong. It’s not necessarily right either; it depend on the degree. If it causes you to hate and despise other countries, and think you are superior (genetically or whatever), it’s a problem. But when you simply believe that your history is one to be proud of, and that - although your country has its weaknesses, it’s still a great country well, it’s a good thing; especially in a world in which moral relativism has taken over.
That should not cause one to be blind to one’s country’s weaknesses, however.
But overall I find the column to be written, not by someone who is anti-Patriotic, as he says, but by someone who’s anti-American. It’s mostly drivel, in my opinion. He focuses on the flaws, yet ignores the strengths. Overall, the US has done far more good than bad. And that’s definitely something you can and should be proud of.
Wow, all we have to do is eliminate love of country and religion and we’d have a paradise where no one is forced to wave a flag!
Someone needs to tell him that the reason he sees those F-16s flying is so that he doesn’t have to wave a flag if he doesn’t want to. That it may not be natural, something you’re born with, but neither is morality or politics or religion; it’s something vital that you have to learn, and learning inevitably involves questioning.
Rothchild’s article is one that I can understand on an intellectual level—I can see if you were taught strongly liberal beliefs why you might feel this way—but on a personal level I just don’t get. I just don’t understand why and American wouldn’t feel pride in their country, whatever their political persuasion.
Pretty much seems to be a consensus opinion among the new progressive breed these last several years.
I find truth and logic in a lot of what he says. No nation as powerful as the United States will ever be loved by everyone. The progressive need to be loved by the masses is existential and it goes beyond reasonable.
The author of this column goes to the root of the problem facing America and the world today. The lack of a common foe. In all his incidents he points to nation upon nation which went to war with a vengeful pride and then after citing horrific incident after horrific incident he then lumps America in with the same evil nationalistic endeavors.
I think America went to war IN Afghanistan and later IN Iraq with vengeful pride. However. In Iraq we are building schools, and hospitals and power plants and their own people are blowing them up. Not us. Pol pot lined them up and shot them by the millions. We line them up and try to feed them. We want them to succeed. Blah……blah……blah and so on and so forth.
However people such as the author of this article find this incessant need to apologize for everything. Truly I do believe that there is anything that would make this group of people happy. They are Like ME. I am a libertarian. Nothing makes me happy in regard to government because we are never going to go back to states rights having precedent over the nanny kingdom that America has set up for themselves.
But that is an aside. I find a lot of factual information in this article and a lot of logic and reality. However this is a classic example of how one can use the power of knowledge and facts to skew a debate left, right, up or down. Knowledge is a powerful thing. The proper use of that knowledge is even more powerful.
His facts are right. His conclusion is wrong. At least when it comes to America.
There are some who would call you unpatriotic if you don’t love everything America does (unless of course it goes against your agenda), but I don’t see it that way.
Pretty spot on post, Michael. It is possible to love your country and still understand its problems.
Just another guy who thinks that Love of Country means Love of the Government of the Country. Typical progressive mistake. Notice that the left weren’t writing these jeremiads in the 1990s when their guy held the White House.
The far left believes that freedom, capitalism, and the Judaea-Christian ethic that the country is based on are all wrong. They believe that the United States itself in its foundations is totally flawed. Hence that is why the far left, such as many leftist American academics and radicalized students, wanted us to lose the war in Iraq. To them diminishing the role of the United States in the world is a good thing. When Bill O’Reilly talks about the hate America left, this is exactly who he is talking about. This evening I will be writing about this subject as well as I have found other screeds like this from other radical leftists in the media.
I should have know this was from the Progressive. I love my hometown but man Madison has waaay too many nutty lefties including Rothschild. They complain about conservatives not "getting it" but he rails against Beinhart’s piece about explaining both sides of patriotism. I am not going to say the "love it or leave it" that’s imo on great thing about the US, he is very to live in loathing about live in the US as much as he wants. Personally I like looking at history not just for the negatives but the positives too. Celebrate our successes, what the founders did and what past generations have accomplished. We can use them as motivation to improve our nation and also learn from the mistakes we made.
RRRocks, Connor, Chuck, Jimmie, Bob and Mike; thanks for your comments. I thought that this would be the general idea among Americans, and I agree with all of you, at least to a degree that is.
I often find it rather ironic that both the European far left and the American far left detest America. For Europeans that’s ok - it’s not their country. But for Americans it’s rather odd.
Of course I disagree with the article but it does beg the question, “what’s the worth of any nation” And if the answer is none, then whats the worth of any government. I know this sounds so glib but I want to ask him,”if this is such a terrible place, why do you live here?”. Now that’s not “love it or leave it” but It seems to be a valid question to those who vehemently disdain “patriotism”.
And this quote caught my eye:
“Love of country is a form of idolatry.”
Gosh, that’s the Jehovah Witness view. Even the word idolotry implies a certain “religious zealotry” on the authors part.
I want to know what country, state, county or anarchic netherland he does “love”.
Anyway, Happy fourth of July to you all.