MODULE 2

PATRIOTISM, NATIONALISM, AND THE GENERAL GOOD

CONSTITUTIONAL PROVIDISIONS ON PATRIOTISM AND NATIONALISM

Section 13. The state recognizes the vital role of the youth in nation building, and shall
promote and protect their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual and social well being. It shall
inculcate in the youth patriotism and nationalism, and encourage their involvement in public
and civic affairs.

Section 17. The State shall give priority to education, science and technology, arts, culture,
and sports to foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social progress, and promote
totally human liberation and development.

CONCEPTS OF NATIONALISM, PATRIOTISM AND VOLUNTEERISM

Nationalism fosters the feeling of oneness and identity as a people or nation. It is

based on the concept of loyalty to a single country. States promote nationalism through
iconography, which is the study of national symbols (national anthem, patriotic songs, flags,
national plants, and animals, color, etc.) in order to encourage allegiance. This imparts a
sense of belongingness to the state.
Nationalism or sense of national consciousness is an exaltation of one nation
above all others; while patriotism is manifested when a person loves his country and
defends and promotes its interests; for example, a soldier who fights for love of country.
When an Ilocano, Tagalog, Visayan, Bicolano, or Maranao agree to have a national
language, they have a nationalistic feeling of ones. When they are proud to patronize
Philippine products, they have national consciousness.
● In our history, nationalism started only during the 19 th century during the last decades
of Spanish rule. Before that, there was only tribal, sectarian or regional feeling
among the people. When the Spaniards came, the natives were called Indios. The
term Filipino was first used and popularized by the propagandists, particularly Rizal,
Del Pilar and Jaena. The seeds of nationalism in a way, may have started in Mactan
where Lapulapu repulsed the first foreign invasion in our soil. Other factors that
contributed to the growth of Filipino nationalism; The opening of the Philippines to
world trade; the influx of liberal ideas into the Philippines; the Cavite Mutiny and the
execution of Gomburza; and the Propaganda movement. After the executive of
Gomburza the natives forgot their tribal/regional differences and animosities and
began to think and feel as one nation to fight for a common cause-freedom.
● All nationalistic acts are generally considered to be patriotic. Examples of such acts
are: the signing of the national anthem, volunteering in rescue or relief operations of
compatriots in danger, distress, and need; participating in pro-Filipino
demonstrations; and in the event of war with other states or even only in imminent
danger to our peace, enlist to any effort undertaken by the government.

The Ethics of Patriotism

Throughout world history, national revolutionary leaders elsewhere have invoked and
mustered the patriotic feelings of their people to support the cause for independence against
their autocratic colonial foreign masters. The same patriotic fervor helped Filipinos gained
their freedom, first from the Spaniards (1898), then from the Americans (1946). Although in
vain, patriotic Filipino soldiers fought and defended Bataan from the Japanese invaders in
WWII. Filipino patriotic spirit helped stge successful non-violent uprisings in EDSA 1 and
EDSA2.

Patriotism and Religion

Religion. There were instances in Philippine history when religion and patriotism
intertwined. The religious revolts (Tamblot, Hermano Pule, etc) in our history were not only
caused by religious intolerance and bigotry of the Spaniards but were motivated by the
Indios’ love of the native land.

Patriotism and Politics

Politics. Patriotism can be invoked by both (anti and pro-government) forces or
factions in civil conflicts within a nation. Supporters of the government may always claim the
legality and justification of their side and would convince the people that it would be patriotic
to support them. They consider those who opposed them as traitors to the motherland.
However, there were instances in history that anti-government revolutions were successful in
gaining more mass support from patriotic citizens because they were fighting against a
despotic and corrupt government.

PATRIOTISM AND RELATED CONCEPTS

Ethnicity and Ethnocentrism

A differentiating cultural trait of a people is ethnicity. Ethnicity (from ethnos, meaning
“people” or “nation”) refers to the ancestry of a particular group of people who have common
distinguishing traits associated with heritage. Recognition of ethnicity may be based on
language, religion, racial origin, distinct customs, and traditions. Ethnic communities may
strive for the preservation of their shared ancestry and cultural heritage through the collective
retention of their language, religion, customs, and traditions. The preservation of ethnic
values and traditions fosters ethnocentrism, the feeling that one’s own ethnic heritage is
superior.
● Chauvinism denotes excessive or blind and negative patriotism. It is generally
defined as invidious attachment or partiality for a group or place to which one belongs
or has belonged.
● Jingoism refers to clamorous chauvinism or arrogant nationalism marked by
belligerent foreign policy usually the advocacy of war as a means to settle disputes.
The terms “warmonger,” “hawk,” “war freak” are synonymous to a “jingoist.”
● Fascism or extreme or belligerent nationalism. The ideology of Fascism is anchored
on the idea that what matters most is the nation itself; that citizens can prosper only
when the nation prospers, and it ends up placing the destiny of the nation above that
of its people. Fascists think that some human beings are naturally better than others;
and that they belong to the superior race or nationality. Under Fascism all human
interaction, including economic activities, are necessarily subject to the absolute
discipline of the State and its leader. Fascism is also a system characterized by a rigi
one-part dictatorship, the forcible oppression of the opposition, the retention of private
ownership of the means of production under centralized government control.
Fascists promote the glorification of war.

NATION’S COHESIVENESS
Political scientists refer to centripetal forces as those that bind together the people
of a state, which enable it to function and give it stability and strength. Centrifugal forces, on
the other hand, destabilize and weaken the state.

1. CENTRIPETAL FORCES – Examples of centripetal forces are nationalism, unifying

institutions, effective organization, and administration of government.
a. Unifying Institutions such as schools (particularly elementary level) are
expected to inculcate goals, values, culture and traditions. The armed forces and
police organizations are also unifying institutions. They fulfill their primary goal as
protectors-giving both internal and external security to the citizenry. In some
countries, the state religion becomes the force of cohesion in helping to unify the
population. This is experienced in theocratic Iran; Judaism in Israel, and the
Roman Catholic Church in the Republic of Ireland.
b. Effective Organization and Administration of Government. Is the state
responsive to the needs of the people? Does it have the political will to act and
implement policies promoting the general welfare of the people? Can it provide
security from external and internal forces? Are the rule of law and the judicial
system firmly established? The affirmative answer to all of these questions
manifests some of the trademarks of effective governance in the state.

2. CENTRIFUGAL FORCES. Destabilizing centrifugal forces in state are ever present,

sowing disunity that challenge the state’s authority and stability. Ironically,
nationalism, a centripetal force, can also become a centrifugal force. A multinational
state is susceptible to nationalist challenges from within its borders if a minority ethnic
group has an explicit cultural and territorial identification. The Moros (Muslims) in
Southern Philippines are good examples of ethnic and religious struggles. Ethnicity,
religion, culture, and often times, ideology therefore, can become centrifugal forces.
Cultural and religious minorities do not only fight for their ancestral or traditional
lands, but also for their indigenous culture and religion. Ideology can be used as a
guide and weapon of revolutionary mass movements. The liberation movements in
many Third World countries are often based and influenced by Marxist-Leninist
 ideology. These movements often aim for the ultimate seizure of political power that
in the process, they become threat to national stability and security. In the
Philippines, the Maoist/Marxist insurgency of the Communist Party and the NPA is a
form of centrifugal force.
CONCEPTS OF COMMON GOOD, PUBLIC INTERESTS, JUSTICE, AND POLITICAL
WILL
1. Common Good are those properties of the total social system, which must be
maintained if the system is to function, survive, and develop, and if the individual
interests as such of any member of the system are to be served.
2. Public Interests Lippmann (1955) defines public interest as what people would
choose if they saw clearly, thought rationally, acted disinterestedly, and benevolently.
All citizen’s interests, therefore, are necessarily subordinate to the achievement of
public interests, since the citizens can only survive and develop if the state survives
or develops.
3. Justice is the administration of what is just or fair. The Roman law refers it to the
phrase “Render to each his due” without justice, who will punish wrongdoers and
criminal offenders? Without it, who will prevent exploitation of the weak from the
powerful? Who will stop discrimination or oppression?
4. Political will is the determination of the government to relate to what is perceived as
beneficial to public interests and acts to implement is decisions on such in order to
achieve a better future for its citizens.

CONCEPTS IN PROMOTING QUALITY OF LIFE OF CITIZENS

1. EQUALITY
Man is “by nature free, equal, and independent,” insists Locke. Jose Rizal re-
asserted that concept when he also declared: man is born equal, free, naked, and without
chains. Harold Laski(1958) claims that equality is “one of the permanent passions of
mankind” and its achievement will lead to the “natural expansion of the human spirit.”
Political equality means the equal right of every citizen to participate in the political
process and to be treated equally by it. It includes equal protection of the laws of the
state, the right to vote and to hold office. Economic equality is obtained when every
citizen has approximately and same amount of material goods. In the Philippines where
two-thirds of the people are poor and ill educated, ironically, this has been the objective
of every government administration since Philippine independence in 1946.

CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISION ON THE FILIPINOS’ RIGHT TO EQUALITY

The Congress shall give priority to the enactment of measures that protect and
enhance the right of all people to human dignity, reduce social, economic inequalities,
remove cultural inequalities by equitably diffusing wealth and political power for the common
good. (Section1; Article 13)

2. FREEDOM
More than the concept of liberty, freedom means the absence of constraints.
According to John Stuart Mill in his work On Liberty, freedom is achieved “Only when
individuals are free to explore or propound any idea they wish can there be hope of
discovering the truth for only in the struggle against error can truth emerge.” Political
freedom, therefore, means the freedom to disagree without fear of punishment. Economic
freedom is the freedom to acquire and dispose one’s wealth without restraint or hindrance.
These freedoms, however, are not absolute and their extent and protection vary from one
state to another depending upon the political and economic systems.

3. ORDER AND STABILITY

Order is defined as the condition of peace and stability, in which everything is
functioning properly. The maintenance of peace and order in a country is an ever-imperative
governmental function because its breakdown leads to chaotic conditions, from which will
render governance almost impossible. Internal disorders brought by unresolved problems of
insurgency, whether ideological, religious or ethnic in nature, surely impede social and
economic development. Anarchy or the state of lawlessness, the widespread incidences of
crime, the continuous disturbance of peace and order, in many historical instances, had
always threatened the very existence of the state.

4. DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESS

The ultimate objective of politics and governance is the attainment of satisfactory
quality of life for every citizen. The pursuit of happiness, an inalienable right of every citizen
should be the consequence of correct politics and effective governance. It is further noted
that the quality of life of citizens depends upon the quality of politics in a country. US
President John Adams correctly stated that the test of government was how much of
contribution it made to the material prosperity of its citizens, and that the government which
“communicates ease, comfort, security, or in one word, happiness to the greatest number of
persons in the greatest degree is the best.”

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