Wordy Woodpecker #3

Patriotism has always had a strong influence in politics, especially in America. Political parties try to associate their chosen policies with patriotism and get furious when their patriotism is challenged, considering it the worst form of a low blow. But what exactly is it? Patriotism is commonly defined as a love for one’s country. Yet this is highly vague. What exactly is loved about the country, and what kind of love is it? Furthermore, while patriotism is considered a virtue, nationalism is considered a vice. To fully understand what it means to be a patriot, one must be able to understand these various distinctions.

To start off, let’s consider if a descriptive love is necessary to be a true patriot. Descriptive love can be thought of as an enjoyment of the current properties of, much like loving cheesecake. So a descriptive love of one’s country would be a belief that one’s country is beautiful, filled with intelligent people, has an intelligent leader, and other such things. Is this patriotism? In order to have a meaningful definition of patriotism, the answer must be no. If the economy goes on a downturn, or if a city gets heavily polluted, it is implausible to think that one’s patriotism would decrease in either case. Worse, since opposition parties tend to believe the current party in power is weak on a number of issues and that there are several unaddressed problems in the status quo, requiring a descriptive love of one’s county to be considered a patriot would in effect yield opposition parties unpatriotic. This is not patriotism; this is nationalism. The original American patriots, those fighting for independence, certainly recognized the weaknesses of their might and prestige, but certainly weren’t unpatriotic. So, when Newsweek ran a story on the weakening of American prestige in its international edition, they weren’t being unpatriotic. Instead, they were merely observing an event, something that should be free more normative influences. Patriotism should not and can not be reduced to mindless cheerleading every minute detail of ones country.

Since patriotism is almost universally considered a virtue, it would make sense to assume that the love of one’s country is normative. Normative love is the sort of love that is felt when one works for the object of their love. Thus a normative love of one’s country is actively working to further the interests of their country. While this does capture the normative nature of calling someone a patriot, it requires much more specificity. We certainly don’t associate going to work as patriotic, even though it indirectly helps the economy and thus the nation. Patriotism is defined by adherence to the countries value’s and working to sponsor them. But this too needs refining, as one is left to wonder what exactly a country’s values are. Are they the current beliefs of the populace, or are they the founding values of the founders (aka old dead white guys)? Appealing to current values may seem like an appealing choice at first, but that definition suffers a fatal flaw. Because a country likely has multiple different sets of values, the “current” values are generally defined as the values of the majority. But to argue that one should always work toward the current values falls into the trap of the tyranny of the majority. One’s obligation to the country does not include obligation towards values they don’t share, even if those values are in the majority. To illustrate with an example, they majority of Americans are Christian and work towards Christian values. But it is wrong to say a non-Christian must work towards Christian values in order to be a patriot. Such a belief is not patriotism; it is mindless nationalism.

At first glance, using the values of a country’s founders seems equally flawed. Why should one be bound by the views of men who lived centuries ago? But there is a clear distinction between these values and the values of the majority. While the values of the majority encompass everything from religion to politeness, the founding values of a country are generally few and specific. And in successful democracies, the founders, anticipated certain changes in popular beliefs, allow certain aspects of the law to change based upon current values. In America, laws following the common will can be passed only if they follow the founding values given in the Bill of Rights. So in America, patriotism is the pursuit and furthering of freedom of expression, justice, and individual autonomy. Patriotism is not relegated to a particular party, but shared by members of both parties. This is what we remember and celebrate on the 4th with fireworks and (for many college students) lots and lots of alcohol. We hold up symbols like the flag, but we must always remember what that flag stands for: freedom.