Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to a country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one’s homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, political, or historical aspects. (Wikipedia)
Generally, patriotism is the love of country. I was born in the United States of America in 1957. I am grateful to have been born in the United States. That said, I don’t think the United States is #1, the best country above all others, or a nation that is uniquely blessed by God. We have a violent, bloody history, one marked by slavery, capitalism, colonialism, and imperialism, so much so that I understand why non-Americans have less than positive thoughts about us. Worse, we have the prominent form of American patriotism that is actually jingoism:
[a form of] nationalism in the form of aggressive and proactive foreign policy, such as a country’s advocacy for the use of threats or actual force, as opposed to peaceful relations, in efforts to safeguard what it perceives as its national interests. Colloquially, jingoism is excessive bias in judging one’s own country as superior to others – an extreme type of nationalism.
I love going to high school football and basketball games. One thing that happens at every game no matter where I go, is that attendees are asked to stand, remove their hats if men, put their hands over their hearts, and listen to or sing the Star Spangled Banner. Due to its unsingability, few people sing our national anthem. I still try to sing it but have long since lost the range to do so.
Before the anthem is sung, the announcer reads a statement reminding people that we live in a nation with freedoms like no others, and that men and women are fighting over “there” so we have freedoms over “here.” Neither statement is true, but plays well with our jingoistic notion of country and place.
Government meetings are typically opened with the Pledge of Allegiance, a pledge of fealty to God and country. I refrain from saying the pledge due its demands that I swear allegiance to the Christian deity and the United States. This, at times, causes me problems when people notice my (supposed) lack of patriotism, but one of the freedoms each of us has is the right to dissent. My refusal to utter the Pledge of Allegiance is my private, silent way to say, “I object,” that I don’t applaud or approve of the violence and bloodshed our flag represents.
The trappings of American jingoism are everywhere to be found: flags, military flyovers, militarized pre-game festivities at sporting events, patriotic clothing, bumper stickers, yard signs, and household goods, and multiple patriotic holidays. Speaking of basketball games, every official wears a shirt with an American flag on one arm, similar to what is worn by law enforcement officers and soldiers. One local school board voted to require high school athletes to wear a flag patch on their uniforms. Why? The school superintendent said he wanted students to be reminded of the greatness of America.
With Donald Trump set to become our jingoist-in-chief on January 20, 2025, we should expect increased tribalism and white Christian nationalism. Claiming to be patriots, they are anything but. True patriots care for the common good of their fellow citizens; embracing differences of beliefs and practices. True patriots don’t threaten their neighbors in other countries with violence, war, and economic destruction. Trump’s threat to take over the Panama Canal and Greenland with military force, invade Mexico, and turn Canada into a state is so far beyond the pale that surely no right-minded American agrees with him, right? Think again. Millions of Americans agree with Trump’s expansionist ideas. The same can be said for his nationalistic economic beliefs which will likely lead to inflation and increased unemployment. Trump is willing to destroy the U.S. economy to prove a point. He is more than willing to ruin the lives of millions of people who live in the United States, all because they are “illegals.”
A patriot, I am, but I reject the patriotism being peddled by Trump, the Republican Party, the MAGAs, and, sadly, many Democrats. You will never see me show my patriotism by saying the Pledge of Allegiance, wearing a flag pin, or flying a flag on our front porch. Such things are what I call patriotic masturbation; feel good behaviors that have little to do with real patriotism. I choose to show my patriotism by loving and caring for others and working for the common good. At the political level, patriotism demands I push back against colonialism, imperialism, and military interventionism that presents the United States to the world as a violent bully who only cares about her thirst for power and world dominance. People hate America not for her greatness, but because she only cares about what advances her interests. Countries with oil, minerals, and other things that fuel our materialistic lust interest us, but emaciated people of color without food, water, housing, or medical care? Who gives a shit about them? Oh, we throw a bit of foreign aid here and there to help with these problems, but most aid goes to prop up governments and expand U.S. military presence across the globe (and the very reasons Trump wants the Panama Canal and Greenland).
I know patriotism is a touchy subject. Please share your thoughts in the comment section.
Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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I went for the over the top, jingoistic stuff after 9/11, as did many Americans. I’m over it now. I don’t sing the anthem (can’t sing anyway), don’t put my hand on my heart, don’t say the pledge. I don’t hate America, I just don’t believe in the government/military fetishism that has become a disease people willingly embrace and push others to catch. I don’t say thanks for your service, either. Not a popular opinion, but the military is not helping me with their policies.
I hear ya, Bruce. The UK has made elaborate displays of superiority into a national pastime. We’re still elevating the Royal Family, who don’t actually do anything, with the trappings of wealth and status, all in the name of patriotic pride.
Hello Ben. Appreciate the post. Being of English / Irish descent, and a bit of a student of history, I can’t help but think that the ethos haunting the United States and Western culture in general may be directly attributed to the English, and the British Empire.
What do I mean? For me the historical equation is clear.
England is an Island.
England built a great navy.
England created the “Admirality” with the perfect weapon system of the 16th – 19th centuries.
Sail, Powder, Cannon, and an insatiable appetite for plunder and exploitation.
The English built their empire on Piracy. A nation of pirates, that surrounded themselves with the trappings
of their piracy, and their illusion of racial and cultural superiority, and you either followed along or got the “slow match”.
Hell, the English did it all over the world, including here.
Look what the English (the empire) tried to do to China – Make it a nation of Drug Addicts. The British call it “The opium wars”.
The English “blue blood” system of Aristocracy still exists and thrives, with America leading the charge for a return to such a abominable cultural attribute. Only difference is they are called Billiionaires here, not “My Lord”.
Despite the horrific history of England, and the British Empire, I can’t help but feeling a certain level of solidarity
with our ancestors and a people from whence our language came from. But I am not fooled for one second about who and what that culture is.
I rather like your take, Jeff. We certainly projected a sense of authority, and with that undoubtedly came a sense of power, which quickly morphed into a smug sense of superiority and entitlement.
This isn’t patriotism they’re engaged in, it’s rancid nationalism and chauvinism.
I stand and say the pledge personally, My wife, who is more politically left than myself, will stand out of politeness but will not put her hand over her heart or say the pledge. We both respect each other’s view on the matter. Being a “true American patriot®️” is about respecting others rights to refuse to do these gestures without being targeted, demeaned, etc. I agree wholeheartedly with Colin Kaepernick’s decision to kneel (which he got from a friend who was a veteran). Being an American also means criticizing our nation openly for the express purpose of bringing about change. That’s what separate us, at least for the time being, from places like Russia, Iran, Notth Korea and Communist China. We can actually openly (at least for now) criticize our history, government, religious institutions, etc.
I am halfway on this. I don’t have an issue with expressing positive attributes of our country along with negative ones, or flying the flag necessarily, as long as those things are voluntary and kept at a reasonable level (ex. flying a small flag in front of a government building). I strongly disagree with the enforced hyper-patriotism that seemed to manifest after 9-11 and became even more exaggerated after the Iraq invasion. You give a good example of the principal who insisted that the flag be sown onto a school’s sports uniforms in order to “teach” the student athletes that America is a “great country”. This is likely to fail, as most teenagers will react negatively to anything forced on them. This expectation of patriotism is something more akin to what our current foreign opponents (who I mentioned earlier) would require of its citizens.
I have this discussion with my wife often. I’m somewhat of a contrarian, I guess. While I am center left politically, I also don’t believe we who occupy the center or left should allow the MAGA right to keep (re) defining what it means to be a “good American”. We have as much right to claim this identity as anyone else. Most of the time, those who MAGA deride as anti-American actually live the most law abiding and decent lives. It’s the “True Patriot Christians” who seem to be the most likely to be in trouble with the law lately.
Good stuff as always Bruce. I think you express openly what alot of reasonable folks think internally.
This reminds me so much of my uber-Baptist in-laws. They’re the types that wear the tacky flag sweaters, and sing the national anthem overly loud as if to say “ooooh just look how patriotic I am!” And that sort of supercilious nonsense. They think American is the greatest country on Earth. In fact they think it’s so great that they are afraid to go anywhere else (except maybe Canada with their deplorable “socialized medicine”) because they’re sure they’ll get robbed by scary foreigners. It’s unfortunate because they have the money and means to travel, won’t ever set foot outside the good old US of A. It’s all completely nauseating.
However… our son has expressed and interest in possibly joining the navy when he gets older and all of a sudden they are like “pump the brakes! Uh-uh, no-way is our grandson doing something dangerous like that.” What I believe they’re really saying is that the military is only for poor kids whose parents didn’t work hard enough to send them to college, so now they have to act as cannon fodder for a few years if they even want to get a higher education like decent, hard-workin’ folks. They forget the fact that they are baby boomers, who reached college age at a time when working to pay one’s way through college was actually possible. Then they look down on their children’s generation and call them lazy because they don’t work to pay their own way through college, despite the fact that this is now an impossibility (unless of course one wants to take one class at a time, work 95 hours a week, and graduate in about eighteen years. It disgusts me how out of touch with reality they are.
Their “patriotism” is a thin veneer of smeared-on bullshit. To them, I think freedom is something that has to be paid for in blood (as long as it’s the blood of other people’s grandchildren.) Their attitude toward prosperity screams “I got mine… who gives a shit about yours?” It all makes me sick. I guess it’s not much of surprise when I say that we don’t get along very well.
Awesome post Jen. It’s just a fact Americans are “takers”. Always have been. We get pissed when congress sends a little foreign aid to a country that is starving, all the while the American Petro or mining interests are exploiting that countries oil, gas or mineral wealth. Republicans brag that this “set up” results in “trickle down” wealth for the locals and improves their over all quality of life. What bullshit. While the locals are lucky to get a loaf of bread from the trickle down, the American Capatalists are building nice mansions and vineyards in France or California.
Americans love their clothes, designer purses and an assortment of goods, courtesy of sweat box mfg. in places like China, Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, and so many other places. You know – where people are lucky to make a dollar an hour or less to satisfy the American consumer lust.
Recently I took a trip to San Antonio, TX (I’m from Oregon), and visited the Alamo. Just prior to the trip, I had heard things about the Alamo (and Texas) history that I’d never been aware of before. On my return home from San Antonio, I read a book titled “Forget the Alamo”. Holy crap! I only now recognize the jingoism that had been perpetuated for so many years past and still remains an ongoing political tug-of-war when it comes to clashing perspectives of Texas / U.S. “patriotism”, dependent on how the history of the Alamo is framed.
Great stuff Bruce. Hope this cold weather is not chilling you to the bone like it is me!
OK – This thread: We are very much in aggreement.
Nationalism: Not me. What the hell is a “country” anyway? Imaginary lines drawn on a map, proclaiming territorial possession – “mine/ours”- , with a body politic establishing “laws” the citizens that reside in said imaginary lines must adhere to under penalty of death.
Imperialism: Well for the “Caucasians” among us, most of our heritage comes from Europe. You know, those fine fellows from England, Germany, the Scandinavian countries, among many others. Spanish if one considers them Caucasians.
What did those fine fellows do when they arrived? And by those fine fellows I’m talking about the “stock” from which most of us belong. Look at the history of these countries (amongst each other). Unrelenting, nonstop murder, exploitation, slavery, looting, stealing, raping, enslaving, you name it they did it. And they brought that same attitude to the new world.
We come from stock that arrived, stole, exploited, raped, set up a “slave” system, destroyed and ulimately murdered 10’s of millions of natives and the slaves they “imported”.
Pillaged and damn near ruined the environment over money, (and continue to do so), and build these wonderful toys called thermo nuclear weapons.
So fellow Americans, look in the mirror and acknowledge your “past” and where you come from, and the values you represent.
Good points Jeff. I agree wholeheartedly that the good ole US of A has its history of atrocities, specifically how it interacted with Native Americans, descendants of slavery and religious minorities depending on the time period.
That said, I don’t think these type of atrocities are limited to the US or even the right wing of the political spectrum in history. One needs to look no further than the “People’s” Republic of China to see cultural genocide on a vast scale, specifically in Tibet and now the western Muslim areas. This all under the banner of a”People’s liberation” style of far left style government, which in reality is a nationalist-Facist government with Communist flair.
For this reason, I tend not to disparage specific countries as much as I disparage certain attitudes and means/methods through their history and current times. Bruce talks about the difference, for example between atheism and anti-theism. The first IMO is a singular individual ascent to their truth, the second is oppression of a perceived problematic viewpoint or lifestyle that doesn’t align with what the government decides are “true socialist values”. Like intellectual oppression in a heavily religious government, two consecutive wrongs don’t make a “right”. Large scale intellectual and/or cultural/religious suppression is never a virtue, whether it is done in the name of John Wayne-Jesus style American patriotism or Comrade Lenin’s vision for a Marxist world.
For all its problems, our country is still the place a lot of folks risk their lives to come to, and I don’t believe that is all economic. You have freedom here that you don’t in many it other countries. You can be an IFB crazy fundamentalist or a neo-Marxist influencer. You can by and large decide where you want to live and your occupation. You can decide whether to join the military for the most part. Yes, there are assholes here, and they have been in charge for a good period of our history. You can publish the “1614 project” and you can also criticize its hypothesis. But unlike a lot of other places, we can actually debate these points of view on Bruce’s page without expecting an “invitation” to spend a few days at the police station East Germany-style, and call the assholes what they are instead of tippy towing around whether our President looks like Winnie the Pooh
That’s why I still personally stand and say the pledge of allegiance. Not because I just “luv Jezus and ‘Mericuh” in the manner that Amy’s in laws do. It’s because when compared to a lot of other places, I would rather be here than there. So my patriotism is subdued, but not totally absent. But if I could waive a magic wand, I would rather live in Finland.
I’ve been able to travel to a variety of countries and see how their citizens live (to some degree). Probably the most shocking was my recent trip to Chile in South America. They have a strong middle class, and it didn’t feel much different driving around the middle of the country than it would to drive around Southern California or the American Southwest. Prices in the supermarket were similar to ours, gas prices were similar, most people had cars and decent houses/apartments/condos, and there was public transportation in Santiago.
Except for my Native American ancestors, the vast majority of my ancestors came to the American colonies in the 1600s from England, Scotland, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland. Some were indentured servants, some were the 2nd or 3rd sons of nobility, some were Huguenots from France, and many people’s stories have been lost to time. They came to ports in what became MA, NY, MD, VA, and they settled all along the Eastern seaboard from Maine to South Carolina, and inland as far as TX. My most immediate ancestors 4 generations back were from TN, FL, AL, PA. prior generations inhabited 16 states. Many fought in the American Revolution, and I wonder what they thought about that, committing treason against Britain to secure separation from Britain. Many were enslavers who thought it was acceptable and right to own people, using them for labor and depriving them of freedom. Some fought for the Confederacy (ugh), again a set of ancestors who committed treason against their country – yet these ancestors were NOT on the winning side. I winder what they were thinking. I heard ancestors say truly reprehensible racist things.
USA is an interesting country. Our Constitution was constructed to be the western world’s first secular nation not beholden to a state religion. It proclaimed to be based on ideas freedom and equality, yet the freedom and equality only existed for white male adult property owners. It took a couple of hundred years to pass laws that expanded freedom and equality to more people. We still aren’t completely there yet, and currently people are working to revoke certain rights from certain people. Our representative government system was never designed to give one person =one vote because our founders were afraid of giving the masses that much power. The electoral college and the senate are designed to give more power to smaller states, and it’s “worked” in that manner.
A lot of innovations, media, and wealth have come out of the US. But I wouldn’t consider the US to be “the greatest country on earth”. There are lots of countries with better systems for their citizens, and a lot that treat their citizens horribly. We may fall in the top 30 for quality of life, but we aren’t at the top of that list. It will be interesting to see how MAGAts are faring after 4 more years of Trump administration rule. I predict they’ll be worse off, but hey, at least they won’t have to worry about a penis-owning player on a town girls’ soccer team! ((Sarcasm))
I have mixed feelings about national pride. Sure, I have hundreds of ancestors who worked and built this country. Some were truly awful people, I’m sure. Most were trying to survive. I didn’t choose to be born here, and it isn’t easy to leave permanently. Here I am, and damned if I’m going to cede it to bigoted MAGAts without a fight. Nor do they get to “own” patriotism. For all its warts and faults, this is my country, the country of my ancestors for 400 years (and more for my Native American ancestors).
I also insist I’m a patriot and I believe that implies a duty to do what I can to participate in the governance of my country. In the words of the anthem, I “stand beside her and guide her”. I feel patriotism is speaking up and resisting to the extent I can when my country violates her guiding ethics within and without our borders. However imperfectly my country has observed her ethiics in the past., they are ideals we can and should strive for. My country has shown her flaws enough times and ways that any pretense of infallibilty is preposterous but our imperfect pursuit of our imperfect ideals is the best we can hope to do with what we have.
Dual Dutch and American citizenship being possible, I regret not knowing I could have claimed Dutch citizenship, being born abroad of Native Dutch parents. By the time I knew, I was time limited from doing so. My parents arrived just in time to enjoy a few moths of prosperity followed by the great depression and years of fighting for survival. Having said that, I’m grateful to be born here. Had I been born in Netherlands I might never have survived the Hitler war or the destruction and hunger that took my Grandfathers and other relatives. No question, America was a lucky break for me but my gratitude does not blind me to when she does wrong and it only makes me feel more acutely the responsibilty to govern my country as I am governed by her.
Personally, I feel that being a patriot includes telling those in charge things that they don’t want to hear, because it’s not unpatriotic to discuss problems that need fixing. Knowing what I do these days, I would choose a different country, as the way things are done,and the hidden history is something I can’t accept and live with. But I’ll always protect the place, people I admire live here, my friends came from here. And I certainly am aware of what my father’s country is capable of doing. So I don’t wear flag clothes, I always like the stars and stripes, because it wasn’t the hammer and sickle. But in the last 20 years I don’t see the flag as I once did. It’s used to justify bad things , including jingoism. So I’ll be ambivalent towards the flag the rest of my days.🇺🇸😢
In the UK we have an annual series of classical music concerts over a two month period in the summer known as ‘the Proms’ (Promenade concerts), culminating in the totally mad ‘last night of the Proms’ in the Royal Albert Hall. This latter has turned itself over the years into the most outrageous example of jingoistic nonsense that can be imagined, supposedly celebrating the great years of the British Empire. All manner of people attend, and the real rowdiness is provided by the mainly young people who are there in droves singing their hearts out. British Union jacks are everywhere, and it is actually incredibly emotional being in amongst it (apparently, as I’ve never managed to obtain a ticket!). The particular highlights include a famous soprano singing Rule Britannia, in which chorus everybody joins in, and then Land of Hope and Glory, where they sing about Great Britain ‘God who made thee mighty make thee mightier yet’ and ‘wider still and wider shall thy bounds be set’. Critics tend to absolutely lambast what they see as insane jingoism but, the fact is, it’s all a parody of ourselves. Nobody believes the UK has any special place in the world anymore (apart from right wing media driven cranks), and the night has become pure fun entertainment, in which to some extent we laugh at ourselves. Patriotism includes having some understanding of the mistakes of the past, and this is the lesson that MAGA types need to start learning.
for Jen, when my son decided to enlist — in 1988 or so — my mother commented that she didn’t want her grandson getting shot at. My response was blunt: nobody does. she had reason to be concerned; my father’s youngest brother was drafted for World War 2 and died in action. My husband’s father survived the war in Europe, but died in Korea. Junior had heard those stories. He said the Army was one thing, but not the Marines: : “I may be dumb, but I’m not suicidal!” To share the advantages of this country we need to share the burdens, from military to taxes! the very rich seem unwilling to do the work!!