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    Becoming a Patriotic

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    Becoming a Patriotic

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    23 views14 pages

    Patriotism

    Uploaded by

    Carlos Gantan
    Becoming a Patriotic

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    of 14
    What is patriotism? ; “devoted love is anoun that means love, Fone country; national loyalty.” The term often brings to mind people directly ee defense ofa nation, namely military service nae Ceamiple: The state and local government representatives. or ai Pp. Oh e soldiers showed exemplary patriotism defending their country from attack. Patriotism, however, can take many other forms outside serving in the military and public office. Diplomats, teachers, first responders and so many more all exemplify patriotism in the many forms of good they do in service of their communities. The word patriotis! support, and defense of There are millions of government employees, as well as millions who volunteer their time in the interest of their country. Individual acts of pride, such as displaying an American flag at one’s home, are also examples of patriotism. The word patriotism is first recorded in the early 1700s. Interestingly, by the 1770s, the word patriot could refer to “a member of a resistance movement, a freedom fighter,” specifically those who fought against the British in the war for independence—associations that persist today. Patriotism is based on patriot, which is recorded in the 1500s. This word ultimately derives from Greek patriotés, “fellow-countryman or lineage member.” The root of this word, in turn, means “fatherland.” Paternal, patriarchy Patriotism or national pride is the feeling of love, devotion and sense of attachment to a homeland and alliance with other citizens who share the same sentiment. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings relating to one’s own homeland, including ethnic, cultural political or historical aspects. It encompasses a set of concepts closely related to nationalism. Patriotism, feeling of attachment and commitment t? acountry, nation, or political community ae ee ee eT LT Feelings of patriotism are based on the positive values the country embraces—like freedom, justice, and equality. The patriot believes that both the system of government and the people of their country ure inherently good and work together for a better quality of life.. Patriotism can be defined as the quality of being patriotic and a patriotic is someone who has love, devotion and loyalty for his country and vigorous support for their homeland. Patriots are known for their unconditional love for their country and feel proud to be its citizens. They have a sense of alliance with other citizens, which can be on the basis of the same values or many other aspects which can be cultural, political or historical, related to one’s own homeland. A patriotic person is always on the side of his own nation and supports its leaders if they are deserving. They are devoted to their own country, have concern for its defense, keeps the interest of their country as their priority and always desire for its prosperity, growth and development. They have an emotional attachment to their nation and this attachment is also known as national feeling or national pride In contrast, feelings of nationalism are based on a belief that one’s country is superior to all others. It also carries a connotation of distrust or disapproval of other countries, leading to the assumption that other countries are rivals. While patriots do not automatically denigrate other countries, nationalists do, sometimes to the point of calling for their country’s global dominance. Nationalism, through its protectionist beliefs, is the polar opposite of globalism. Examples of Patriotism There are countless ways of showing patriotism. Standing for the National Anthem and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance are obvious ones. Perhaps more importantly, many of the most beneficial acts of patriotism in the U.S. are those that both celebrate the country and make it stronger. A few of these include: ¢ Participating in the representative democracy by registering to vote and voting in elections. 4 ‘ i Volunteering for community service or running for elected government office. Serving on juries. Obeying all laws and paying taxes. * Understanding the rights, freedoms, 5 and responsibilities contained in the U.S. Constitution. The Anatomy of Patriotism Both historically and conceptually, patriotism has been one of the foundational characteristics that define the very essence of one’s attachment, identification, and loyalty to a political community and a basic virtue associated with In fact, the willingness to kill or die for has been traditionally viewed as the most Profound and genuine form of expression of patriotism. Both historically and conceptually, patriotism has been one of the foundational characteristics that defines the very essence of one’s attachment, identification and loyalty tog Political community and is a basic virtue associated with citizenshi as a political conception of the person. Despite its centrality in the pantheon of political ideals, patriotism 7 y contested concept and an elusive virt emains a ; , f ‘Ue as well as a source of potential conflicts and violence. r one’s country In fact, the willingness to kill or die for 0: iti iewed as the m es count has been traditionally viewe : st profound and genuine form of the expression of patriotism. i tempor, 5 therefore, hardly any concept in con porary studin citizenship and nationalism or political Philosophy in ge a that is more complex, controversial and prone to Sins F Se ¢] that of patriotism (Kleinig, Keller & Primoratz 2015). han The Standard Analysis of Patriotism Both intuitively and theoretically, patriotism has been defined as “love of country” (amor patriate). Despite its simplistic depiction, this definition is anything but clear and unproblematic. In fact, throughout history, the very status of patriotism has been characterized by a fierce ambivalence. The Roman poet Horace described patriotism as the highest form of political sentiment. As he famously emphasizes, {t is sweet and honorable to die for one’s country’ (Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori). In contrast, Leo Tolstoy, Mark Twain, and Oscar Wilde defined patriotism as being immoral and questionable, i.e. as ‘the virtue of the vicious’ and - perhaps most notoriously - as ‘the last refuge of a scoundrel,’ whereas, on the other, patriotism is viewed ‘as a morally legitimate stance, or a duty, or a moral virtue’ . This ambivalence towards a particular notion can also be found when examining some other basic concepts, e.g. Toleration. - Despite the fact that patriotism and tolerance are far from being compatible, they share their dependence on their object. Rainer Forst — in the case of tolerance — termed this as a “normative dependent concept” (Forst 2007) whereas in the case of patriotism Eamonn Callan defined it as ‘depending virtue’ (Callan 2010: 270). For example, if we are tolerant of violence, tolerance would not be recognized as a virtue. The same would apply for patriotism. For example, constitutional patriotism is generally recognized as positive, as it is based on the commitment to shared public values and common principles of modern pluralistic society, €.g. equality, justice, freedom, whereas “unconditional” patriotism is far from unproblematic. The similarity between toleration and patriotism is also contextual, as both patriotism and toleration are being critiqued as being pre-democratic. The Object of Patriotism In order for a particular attachment to one’s country to qualify as patriotism, it needs to encompass four separate elements, i.e. the subject of patriotism (who is a patriot); ™) i aoe ho or what is the object of thig Senn fete vr the special ried ee Sa en the subject and the object of petroteat eto importa’ | Justification of patriotism (why pal ; | necessary, or even urgent). As with the definition of oe mensions Poot of patriotism encompasses two separate dim The ven ici Vertical dimension and a horizontal ened ube dimension of patriotism connects an une ; teh ct of patriotism] with its object, i.e. one’s coun: TY (pi >a Particular Seographical area or a political community. This dimension of Patriotism refers to the relationship between the individual and the object of patriotism. We can distinguish between two versions of the Vertical dimension, Le. a “pre-political” dimension of Patriotism Where the focus is Primarily dedicated to the culture, language, history, and traditions of one’s patria or a Political community, and a “political” dimension of Patriotism where the centra] object of loyalty, pride and emotional attachment are the com: ‘mon, Principles and fundamental values of q Polity (e.g. justice, tolerance, ete.). The Justification is based on the relationship with a territory and the People who inhabit a i ‘Ographical area while the Political Justication of ciples and Shared p time, these two dimensj i anes i Political maty-base; Patriotism TUS example of value- m” as articulated In contrast, the horizontal dimensio, of Patriot; i rimarily related to the Social, cultural, ang Psychologmn’S Pan ship between a political community it tenon In this view, a common Political identi Provig s eens unity and solidarity among memberg ofa polite’ a sense i ity. In this interpretation, as Igor Primorgal community. ation lationalism & Patri; Character Form: emphasizes, patriotism needs to be viewed as a ‘duty of special concern for the well-being of our country and compatriots’ (Primoratz 2009). This dimension of patriotism connects members of the political community, which, on the one hand, share the same political status and identity whereas on the other differ according to the type of properties that are part of their choice (e.g. religion or conception of the good) as well as other elements of their identity (e.g., gender, age, race, ethnicity). As Robert Audi emphasizes, definitions of patriotism essentially refer to: at least three different kinds of things: a trait of character, as where we speak of a person who is patriotic to the core; an emotion, as where pevple are described as glowing with patriotism or bursting with pride in their country; and (perhaps by extension from these more basic cases) a position, such as the view that one owes loyalty to one’s country. The nature of patriotism Both at the vertical as well as at the horizontal levels, two different conceptions of patriotism can be identified, i.e. extreme conceptions of patriotism (extreme patriotism) and moderate conceptions of patriotism (moderate patriotism). At the vertical level, extreme conceptions of patriotism are associated with an unconditional acceptance or loyalty to one’s country, best represented by the slogan ‘My country: right or wrong.’ In this case, the defense of patriotism is absolute, because the object of patriotism receives unconditional support. Extreme conceptions of patriotism are characterized by three separate characteristics, i.e. unconditional loyalty to the object of patriotism; an exclusive attachment to the object of special treatment (e.g. love) and the distributive dimension (giving priority to one’s compatriots). These conceptions of patriotism, as Igor Primoratz (2009) has emphasized, have been framed in a variety of ways, e.g. “strong”, “extreme’, “robust” etc. te conceptions of patriotism are i i ral constraints limited by two sets of constraints, 1.€- procedu: Tel i riotism ec i the fact that patrio and object-related constraints. Given s = Alasdair MacIntyre — is a CO! ‘ctiéns the hazard (1984), both conditions are to set Se aciEnt degred would give these conceptions of Peet negative effects: of legitimacy and neutralize their potentially In contrast, modera' ait Yat airy of contemenrey Soneee sr patriotism — as exemplified most clearly in bi constitutional patriotism advanced by Jurgen Habermas ~ appear as a form of moderate patriotism, thereby avoiding the potential objection of being discriminatory, homogenis- ing, exclusionary, etc. Some of the other most | recent examples that might also qualify as being moderate include cosmopolitan patriotism (Appiah 1997); moderate patriotism (Nathanson 2010), civic patriotism (Laborde 2002), democratic patriotism (Callan 2010), and the patriotism of best tradition (Blum 2007). The horizontal dimension of patriotism primarily denotes the relationship of the individual with other compatriots in the context of which it is neces. Ss distinguish the redistributive aspect of the Horieeatel dimension and the substantive aspect of the horizontal dimension of patriotism. The redistributive

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