The Patriotism Misunderstanding
Are You a Patriot?
If you answered yes, I bet you actually aren’t. And if you answered no, there’s a chance you’re more patriotic than you think. Let’s see who wins this bet.
Our America – the land of the free, the home of the brave, with liberty and justice for all. The greatest country in the history of the world. Depending on what measurements you use, it is hard to argue otherwise: Wealth, influence, standard of living for the average person, and more. Only a few figures or concepts that are often used to show why the United States is the greatest nation that ever was or will be.
Of course, there are other measurements that do not make us look so good: Number of incarcerated persons, the wealth disparity between an average earner and the top percent, national debt, standard of living for the below average person (who are becoming more and more average every day), and more. I hesitate to even mention the military, as the funding and activity of the military may be seen as a huge strength or huge harm depending on how you look at it.
With all of this said, and the countless issues left unsaid, there is one thing we can all agree on: Most American people feel a great passion for their home nation. For many, this is an angry passion of things they wish their country did differently. For many, this is a passion familiarly called patriotism.
Oxford defines a patriot as “a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors.” I know what you’re thinking: Oxford is a British dictionary. What do the British know about patriotism other than what we showed them on July 4th, 1776? They don’t have fireworks, hot dogs, or a red, white & blue flag across the pond. Or do they?
In any case, patriotism is something close to the hearts of many Americans. It is why you see American flags hanging outside of homes, it is why our children pledge allegiance to the American flag at the start of every school day (you may be surprised to learn that not every country does this, and many think it is weird that we do), and it is why we consider ourselves the greatest nation in the world. It is because we love our country. It is that passionate love of our history, our ideals, and our victories that sparks our patriotism. It all comes from a place of love. Right?
Well, love is a funny thing, and it makes people do crazy things. People have a great capacity for love, for a great many things in their lives. We love different people in different ways, romantically or otherwise. We often love the things we do, be they our occupation or our hobby. Human beings are emotional, and the greatest emotion we can feel and display is love. But often with love, a difficult question can be raised: Do we love something/someone, or do we love the idea of it? Do we actually love what is in front of us, or do we love what it could be, or should be?
If patriotism comes from love, I have to ask: Do we love our country, or do we love the idea of our country?
You may think that the answer is clear, that you do fully love your country. And, if you do, good for you. Even though I think you’re lying to yourself, a little bit. It’s unfair for me to call you a liar, because this question requires a little bit more unpacking before we can really answer it either way.
Love is not merely proven through feeling, or statements. Sure, you can feel love, and no matter what I say that cannot be taken away from you. Proving love, for one thing or another, is ultimately a choice that is displayed through action. If you love what you do, you do it to the best of your ability. If you love who you are with, you love them how they want to be loved, and prove it every day in big ways and small. If you love yourself, you take care of yourself. If you love your country, you take care of your country.
How do most patriots take care of their country? How do most patriots prove their love for their country? Do patriots love their country, or do they love the idea of their country? Let me unpack this a little deeper: What even is a country? Again, we turn to Oxford, even though the British have a kingdom and not a country and therefore should have no opinion on the matter.
The Oxford dictionary offers a few definitions for a country that I find relevant to patriotism: “An area of land that has or used to have its own government and laws” and “the people of a country; the nation as a whole.” We can also see the definitions of a nation, which are: “A country considered as a group of people with the same language, culture and history, who live in a particular area under one government” and “all the people in a country.”
I am legally required to deviate from the main point, briefly, to tell you, how painful it was to type out a definition from the Oxford dictionary that lacked an Oxford comma when listing language, culture, and history. I feel personally attacked, and that is what I deserve for referencing a British dictionary for such an American topic. I love an Oxford comma. Now, back to love of country.
There are common ideas in all of the above definitions, and most of them should be no surprise: A group of people, living in the same geography, with similar culture and language, belonging to the same government, that they may or may not be invited to participate in. All of that checks out to me. With this definition of a country, maybe we can find the patriotism. Maybe we can find the love.
Working backwards, a country is united by our government. Although one government’s administration may not give you much of a united feeling, please bear with me. In the most literal sense, for better or worse, your government does in fact bind you to your fellow citizens.
Would most patriots say they are patriotic about the government? Maybe, but I think that for the most part refers to the structure of the government more than the government itself. We love democracy, we love the republic structure, we love the balance of powers, and we love the ability to amend our government as times change – as WE change.
But I have a hard time saying that patriots can be patriotic, can be loving, towards the government itself when they, at the same time, likely have immensely negative emotions towards half of the people making up that government. You cannot say you love the government when you actually hate half of it. If you were to ask most patriots, I would bet my hard-earned American dollars that they would not list the government (as an institution) at the top of their list of reasons to be patriotic.
What about our shared culture and language? I think there is a very real love there. After all, this is a huge part of what defines who we are. It is how we communicate, it is how we express ourselves, and how we feel connected. This gives us the finest works of art just as much as it gives us a reason to shoot the shit with our buddies.
But, a love of culture and language does not equate to a love of country. Instead, it is a love of our art, our identity, the things that make us laugh and cry. Though we can be proud of our country’s cultural contributions, we must also acknowledge that our country is not unique in such creativity, nor are we limited from enjoying the culture of other nations. A love of culture is not a love of country, even if that love is for your country’s culture.
Similarly, people may have love for our homeland itself. Our nature, our parks, and our landmarks are spectacles worthy of love. You can travel your homeland and see breathtaking sights, let your shoes be covered in the same dirt as its original explorers. Though mesmerizing, the average patriot may not pinpoint nature as the defining reason for their patriotism. Otherwise, they’d be citing their love of country as in land and nature. They’d mean the country, not the country as in the nation.
One might argue that keeping mankind away from nature would be for the best, but that’s for another day. For this day, we are left with one last element of the definition of a country: People.
Without people, there is no country, is there?
Without brave people, no history would ever be made. Without that history, we’d have no study of who we are or how we got here. Without that shared knowledge, passed from person to person, we’d have no story to tell, no song to sing. We would have no history because no one made our history, no one lived our history, no one kept our history.
Without wise people, our ideals would ever be established. Ideals to be debated, defined, solidified, and modified. Ideals to live by, or to die by. Wise people have defined our morality for generations, and even wiser people have come to clean it up the mess they made down the road.
Without righteous people, we would never overcome bullies (looking at you again, Britain). People who point fingers at wrongdoing, who stand up and fight for others. People who do the right thing simply because it is the right thing to do, whether they have anything to gain, or everything to lose. Righteous people to overcome the villains, who only serve the purpose to remind us the importance of goodness.
Without people, there is no country. Without people, there is no patriotism. A country is its people. So with that in mind, I am glad so many Americans are patriots. It means all patriots love all the people!
That’s why so many patriots go out of their way to help other people, to give to those in need, and to keep an eye out for our neighbors whether they look like us or not. It is why all of us patriots can put our differences aside and solve problems for the greater good. It is why people who loudly call themselves patriots do so to let you know you are welcome, and they are eager to help you. Right?
If that’s the case, and there are so many patriots, why are we all so mean to each other? Why are we all so greedy with what we have, while also so angrily jealous when we see what others have? Why do times feel worse now than ever? Where is the positivity in our patriotism? Where is the love?
And remember, love is not only a feeling – it is a choice. Love is a series of actions we choose to show it, and prove it, to others. So if you love your country, you love its people. And you cannot simply love your fellow countrymen by feeling it or declaring it. No, you have to choose it in your actions.
You have to choose kindness, choose equality of personhood and sometimes equity in treatment. That is, giving one person more than you give to someone else, because they might have a greater need than another. An example of this would be giving floaties to a child instead of Katie Ledecky, an Olympic swimmer for the United States.
You have to choose to do the right thing even when the wrong thing is being shouted in your face. You have to choose the good path especially when the bad path is easier. You have to fight to make your neighbor’s lives better, even when it has little effect on your own life.
And by the way, I’m not saying you have to do these things at all. No. This is the land of the free! You are free to be selfish. You can protect what’s yours, and you can turn a blind eye to anyone else in trouble. But you don’t get to call yourself a patriot when you do. Because patriots actually care, and patriots act on it.
You might read all of these things I have explained about doing the right thing, loving your fellow countrymen, and say to yourself, “Yeah. I do all of that.” If that is the case, I applaud your patriotic efforts. Truth be told, I don’t do these things most of the time. I’m just a hypocrite with a keyboard.
But I try to. In my actions to those around me and, to circle back to our government, in how I vote. I vote to make life better for those less fortunate. How does your vote affect the sick, the poor, the abused, the systemically oppressed, or the children who will be our future? Do you vote patriotically? Do you vote selfishly?
John F Kennedy said it best: “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” For all of JFK’s flaws, this quote of his became timeless the moment it was spoken. If we want a chance at things getting better, of a more positive feeling in our world today, we have to start living this out: Doing what we can for our country, while keeping in mind that our country is our people.
If you disagree with me, and you believe patriotism is a love of the USA itself, and not her people, please consider one final thing for me: The United States Federal Government is in command of all fifty states (and some territories, with less rights than the states). Each of these fifty states is comprised of counties, and in those counties are cities and townships. These municipalities have neighborhoods. These neighborhoods have homes. These homes have people. If there are no people in these homes, the whole system kind of caves in on itself.
We are not a nation of empty homes. We are not a nation of quiet streets. We are not a nation of unlit cities. We are not a nation of useless states (debatable, actually).
We are a nation of people. Ask yourself: Are you a patriot because you actually love your country? Or are you a patriot because you love what your country has meant for you and you alone?
If you are a patriot, look around your neighborhood and see where they could use some love. If you are a patriot, vote with people in mind, not just principles that you may have never taken the time to question or analyze. If you are a patriot, then listen to JFK and ask what you can do for your people. If you are a patriot, show it loudly and proudly by loving your country, one neighbor at a time.
God Bless America.