Patriotism

A man's country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but
it is a principle and patriotism is loyalty to that principle.
George William Curtis

Patriotism is commonly defined as love of and/or devotion to one's country. However,

"patriotism," or the love of one's country, has come to have different meanings over time. Thus,
the meaning of patriotism can be highly dependent upon context, geography and philosophy.

Although used in certain vernaculars as a synonym for nationalism, nationalism is not considered
an inherent part of patriotism. Among the ancient Greeks, patriotism consists of notions
concerning language, religious traditions, ethics, law and devotion to the common good, rather
than pure identification with a nation-state.

During the 18th century Age of Enlightenment, the notion of patriotism continues to be separate
from the notion of nationalism. Instead, patriotism is defined as devotion to humanity and
beneficence. For example, providing charity, criticizing slavery, and denouncing excessive penal
laws is considered patriotic. In both ancient and modern visions of patriotism, individual
responsibility to fellow citizens is an inherent component of patriotism.

Many contemporary notions of patriotism are influenced by 19th century ideas about
nationalism. During the 19th century, "being patriotic" becomes increasingly conflated with
nationalism, and even jingoism. However, some notions of contemporary patriotism reject
nationalism in favor of a more classic version of the idea of patriotism which includes social
responsibility.

Contemporary notions of patriotism

Contemporary scholar of ethics, Paul Gomberg, has compared patriotism to racism. He argues
that the primary implication of patriotism in ethical theory is that a person has more moral duties
to fellow members of the national community, than to non-members. Patriotism is therefore
selective in its altruism. Gomberg notes the view (in ethics) that moral duties apply equally to all
humans is known as cosmopolitanism.

Patriotism implies a value preference for a specific civic or political community. Universalist
beliefs reject such specific preferences, in favor of an alternative, wider, community. In the
European Union, thinkers such as Habermas, however, have advocated a European-wide
patriotism, but patriotism in Europe is usually directed at the nation-state and often coincides
with Euroscepticism.

As this modern patriotic poster suggests patriotism is often closely associated with other
perceived national mores, in this case freedom.

Some religious believers place their religion above their 'fatherland', often resulting in suspicion
and hostility from patriots. Two examples of groups that have experienced this suspicion in the
United States are Roman Catholics and Muslims. In the United States and the United Kingdom,
Roman Catholics were seen as owing loyalty to the Pope rather than the nation. As a result, the
Knights of Columbus (referred to as "the strong right arm of the church" by several Popes)
established the virtue of patriotism as one of their four principle virtues. Muslims are sometimes
seen as owing loyalty to the Islamic community rather than to the nation. Other groups find a
conflict between certain patriotic acts and religious beliefs. Jehovah's Witnesses and Mennonites
may choose to refuse to engage in certain patriotic acts or to display certain symbols.

Supporters of patriotism in ethics regard it as a virtue. In his influential article "Is patriotism a
virtue?" (1984), the philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre notes that most contemporary conceptions
of morality insist on a blindness to accidental traits like local origin and therefore reject patriotic
selectivity. MacIntyre constructs an alternative conception of morality, that he claims would be
compatible with patriotism. Charles Blattberg, in his book From Pluralist to Patriotic Politics
(2000), has developed a similar conception of patriotism.

A problem with treating patriotism as an objective virtue is that patriotisms often conflict.
Soldiers of both sides in a war may feel equally patriotic, creating an ethical paradox. (If
patriotism is a virtue, then the enemy is virtuous, so why try to kill them?)
Within nations, politicians may appeal to patriotic emotions in attacking their opponents,
implicitly or explicitly accusing them of betraying the country. Minorities may reject a patriotic
loyalty and pride, which the majority finds unproblematic. They may feel excluded from the
political community, and see no reason to be proud of it. The Australian political conflict about
the Black armband view of history is an example. Conservative Prime Minister John Howard,
who would undoubtedly describe himself as an Australian patriot, said of it in 1996:

The 'black armband' view of our history reflects a belief that most Australian history since 1788
has been little more than a disgraceful story of imperialism, exploitation, racism, sexism and
other forms of discrimination.

In the United States, patriotic history has been criticized for de-emphasizing the post-Colombian
depopulation, the Atlantic slave trade, the population expulsions and the wars of conquest against
Native Americans.

Patriotism is often portrayed as a more positive alternative to nationalism, which sometimes

carries negative connotations. Some authors such as Morris Janowitz, Daniel Bar-Tal, or L.
Snyder argue that patriotism is distinguished from nationalism by its lack of aggression or hatred
for others, its defensiveness, and positive community building. Others, such as Michael Billig or
Jean Bethke Elshtain argue that the difference is difficult to discern, and relies largely on the
attitude of the labeler.

How patriotic I am?

I am a patriotic person, I love my country and I am proud to be an Indian. I always want to be in
army but due to some reasons I did not able to make it. I always want to serve my country by
being in army. But now I am going to serve India in other way. I like to do some research work in
the field of IT and make my country proud. If I get a chance I want to remove this poverty and
terrorism from India and bring peace. What are people doing now are they learn here in India but
they work for other countries but I learn and work for India only. I always want to do some work
for my country; I am always there to serve my country.

If you want a symbolic gesture, don't burn the flag; wash it.

NORMAN THOMAS