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Will the real patriots please stand up?
From the book: Chum for Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters by David Satterlee
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| Chum For Thought: Throwing Ideas into Dangerous Waters |
Will the real patriots please stand up?
Teachers train students to evaluate ideas by comparing and
contrasting. There seem to be several strongly-contrasting ideas about what
patriotism is, so let’s compare them.
Everybody seems to agree that waving and saluting a flag is
patriotic. So is praising troops, singing certain songs, and setting off
fireworks. I’ll agree that all of that is very nice. Symbols stand for things
that have real meaning and showing respect for those symbols is not entirely
without meaning. But, what else do you stand for? What personal actions and
sacrifices are you willing to take as a patriot?
One vision of patriotism is standing together with existing
compatriots to fight against a common enemy. Yes, that is always a good idea.
We are, by definition of being “us,” inherently good. And, everyone else is an
enemy and therefore always bad. Show these patriots an enemy and they will
rally together, crying “death to (whomever),” shaking their fists, and even
gunning up to go attack someone. Man, now THAT’S real patriotism.
A first priority for this kind of patriot is to protect
their country from foreigners – people who surely want to overrun them or just
somehow run them into the ground. Let’s see, that could include
anyone with a different skin color, racial heritage, policy, national allegiance, religion, language, or just holding different ideas. And, in this vision of patriotism, the threat doesn’t even have to come from entire other nations; it can come from people, for instance, who want to immigrate (like our great grandfathers did) to take our jobs. There are as many threats and enemies as one can invent. And, they’re all out to do “us” harm in some way.
anyone with a different skin color, racial heritage, policy, national allegiance, religion, language, or just holding different ideas. And, in this vision of patriotism, the threat doesn’t even have to come from entire other nations; it can come from people, for instance, who want to immigrate (like our great grandfathers did) to take our jobs. There are as many threats and enemies as one can invent. And, they’re all out to do “us” harm in some way.
Would it be patriotic to feel empathy for and look out for
the needs of others? Was it patriotic when my grandparents gave produce to
their neighbors during the Great Depression and offered sandwiches and odd-jobs
to men traveling through town, looking for work? Is it patriotic to contribute
to a bake sale, buy a student’s fundraiser ticket, volunteer for a good cause,
or shop at the town’s grocery co-op? Is it patriotic to willingly pay your fair
share of taxes to support the common needs of our communities and national commonwealth?
The first vision of patriotism has us joining together to
fight a common enemy that someone has led us to fear. The alternate vision of
patriotism has us joining together to contribute to the common good of others
that we have personally decided to love. This better kind of patriotism
recognizes our responsibilities to one another as citizens of the same
community, nation, or planet. Instead of fear, loathing and hate, this better
kind of patriotism requires compassion, cooperation, collaboration, commitment,
and even compromise. American patriotism lies more in the impulse to build up
the entire population than in the bitter defense of partisan ideologies and
interests. Real patriotism is embodied by “we are in this together,” not “us
vs. them.”
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