In the past few days, we’ve been treated to a redefinition of patriotism. We’ve been told that “true patriotism” is more than love for and loyalty to a nation. We’ve been told that the “true patriot” must at times disagree with his government or its leaders, and that is obviously correct. But it’s also not patriotism.
First, it must be noted that patriotism is not just an American concept. Ever since there have been countries, there have been patriots, whether Trojan warriors hiding in a horse or Roman bakers bursting with pride over the feats of engineering-do accomplished by their countrymen.
And each of these patriots has believed both in a gathering of people in a particular area, and in a set of beliefs, a culture which bound them together. Their patriotism was felt for a particular nation or state.
And so it is with us. We believe, in our hearts and with our minds, that man must be free. We hold especially close to us the determination that we must be free, both that our nation must be free from external control and that we must be free from our government. But our patriotism is felt for the manifestation of our nation, as birthed in Declaration and Constitution.
We struggle with the desire to spread freedom across the globe, not because we want to keep it for ourselves, but because while freedom is every human’s right, we suspect that it is also a prize which must be earned. Yet when we encourage other peoples in the ways of liberty, it is not out of patriotism, but out of that deeper belief in our own ideals.
A patriot doesn’t rebel against the trappings of patriotism, as if to show himself a better patriot than others by burning the flag or not wearing a pin. He yields to the symbols, revels in them, and exalts them. To be part of a culture is to accept its symbols without question. The symbols represent the nation, even if they are borrowed from past incarnations of it.
We believe that while our government is the best sort we can imagine, that it is only a necessary evil. It must be challenged and kept under constant scrutiny, lest it overstep its bounds. We know that if this Constitution should need amending or even if this form of government should need to be exchanged for another, we will. If we abolish our current government. it will not be out of patriotism, but out of belief in the underlying principles.
So it is allowed, at times, for a patriot to criticize the government, and in an extreme case of usurpation or other crisis, to take up arms against it. He does so not out of patriotism per se, but from a need to fight for the underlying principles. His love for culture, geography, and the rights of Man thus outweigh his patriotism, even though he remains a patriot.
But we must not mistake the exception for the rule. There are many who criticize their governments or take up arms against them who are not patriots. Thus criticism or rebellion may be allowed to the patriot, but they are not evidence of patriotism. A patriot may choose to criticize the government, but in no particular instance would a patriot necessarily do so out of patriotism. There will always be a disagreement among patriots as to the seriousness of an error in governance, as well as about the remedy.
So it is incorrect and unnecessary to include in the definition of patriotism speaking out against your country’s flaws.
And just as not every instance of overreach is just cause for insurrection, it is not always necessary to criticize the government or its leaders, even when we disagree with them. Wisdom is often gained in silence, when our first impulse to disagree is shown to be foolish. Loyalty to the nation means noting some errors silently to ourselves and rendering judgement at a later date, in the forum of our own choosing, after all the facts are known.
A freedom unused may wither, but just as often overuse leads to regulation, limits, and rules.
In criticizing our government or its leadership, we harm, however much, the image of our nation in the eyes of outsiders, and even among our countrymen who lack our depth of understanding. Rather than causing others to stumble, let us hold our tongues. Rather than using our liberties without regard for the consequences, let us wait for full insight. Being ever vigilant in holding to freedom, let us first not waste it on prattle.
While waving the flag, do not allow harm to what it represents.
And that, my friends, is true patriotism.
most often to astray. Their concept of patriotism is that it is patriotic to proclaim the perceived failings of their government loudly across all the world's shores. When an American goes into another country, more often a country that has no real concept of "freedom of the press" and proclaims that the leader of this nation is a war criminal, or that he is a traitor, they are undermining the foundations of this country.
Citizen's of other nations who are not allowed to speak out against their own government for fear of reprisal, see and hear this rhetoric. They do not necessarily recognize that these Americans fear no government response because of our freedoms. They see this rhetoric as daring and bravery -- rather than a simple God-given right of the people to dissent.
We as Americans have a great amount of freedom, and as a result, we have a great amount of responsibility. We go into the world as Ambassadors for our nation. When we act as poor ambassadors, when we demean our own country in the eyes of the world, we undermine what it is that makes this country great.