Is Patriatism Morally Acceptable?

Patriotism is not blindly following ones country as some think. Patriotism is working to ensure you’re your country lives up to your moral and ethical values both at home and abroad. As well as being critical of your country when it does not live up to those standards. Patriotism as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary is “The quality of being patriotic; love of or devotion to one's country” (Oxford 2014). That’s it. It doesn’t say you have to take any specific action like flying the flag, serve in any function such as the armed forces or support any particular party for election. However; devotion is usually manifested in some type of behavior. In fact the definition is open to interpretation and subjective at best. True American

For instance an American can be the one who is known to take beating for one’s country. In the Essay by John McCain “ Veterans Day: Never Forget Their Duty “ he defines patriotism as having courage to take risks for your country. “ Sitting there , with his eyes

Patriotism is generally defined as loyalty and love for one's country. However, patriotism's definition varies depending on how "loyalty" and "country" are themselves defined. For example, Stephen Decatur's toast indicates a definition that allows for some types of political dissent. When Decatur stated, "Our country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but our country, right or wrong," the naval officer meant that dissention with regards to foreign policy can be injurious to national pride, identity, and military strategy. Hence, "in her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right." Yet, Decatur leaves open the possibility for political dissent with regards to domestic policies. If he were alive in the 20th century, for example, Decatur might have supported the Vietnam War while also supporting the Civil Rights movement.

American Patriotism can be defined in different ways. When people think of the word patriotism, most often say "to love one 's country". That is true in some aspect, but being patriotic means much more than that. In the words of Mark Twain, he states, “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” True patriotism is to support what 's best for this country and contribute in ways to help that can be beneficial for everyone. However, to a socialist, patriotism can be viewed within three main perspectives: the functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionist perspective.

In his essay, "A Cause Greater Than Self", Senator John McCain writes about patriotism being "a love of country expressed in good citizenship.” He contends that "Patriotism is countless acts of love, kindness and courage that have no witness or heraldry and are especially commendable because they are unrecorded". In other words, he claims that patriotism is an act that is committed without the need of praise. A patriot abides to the country's laws and engages in acts of kindness without acting to one's interest. Before reading the essay, I thought a patriot was typically someone in the military or a government official, someone who willing sacrifice themselves to protect their country. The dictionary defines patriotism as love for

P - patriotic; Patriotism is a quality that shows one's love for his or her country. By being patriotic, a person is being loyal to their country. It shows that they support and care for the things others have fought to give them. I display my patriotism by something as little as saluting the flag to say the Pledge of Allegiance daily.

Many people believe that they are patriotic people. But, what truly makes one patriotic? In “Saying Goodbye to Patriotism” Robert Jensen critiques the effects of patriotism on today’s modern society, the United States, and globalization after the attacks on 9/11. Jensen defines patriotism in his talk delivered to the Peace Action National Congress as “love and loyal or zealous support of one’s own country.” (Jensen 741) But, that is not the only definition of patriotism. One may love living in the United States so does that make them patriotic? Patriotism is probably one of the hardest words to define in today’s society.

Patriotism is a way in which we can strongly express our pride of for our nation and simply a way to honor our homeland. A feeling that has been spreading throughout the world for thousands of years. Patriotism has been such an influential aspect of literature, it has changed the historical ways of writing. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry expressed their ideas of patriotism in very different ways, but they all one idea in common, to share their powerful writing throughout the world. In many pieces of literature patriotism was shown repeatedly through the writing. For example, The Crisis No. 1, The Speech of Virginia Convention, and The Declaration of Independence all thoroughly conveyed patriotism and a revolutionary pride.

What is the definition of patriotism for America? This question can be answered in various ways, but is not always focused upon in daily life. Spanning from Colonial America up until today, this answer has fluctuated due to the happenings within the country. Although separated by time, many previous beliefs reflect similarly upon more modern occasions. Patrick Henry’s Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death speech provides ideas that can easily transpose to current events in present day America. In his speech, there is the one overruling idea, that of patriotism, and a few supporting points, such as individual liberty and interpretation of freedom.

Another reason that Remarque’s portrayal of patriotism being more favorable than nationalism is more effective than Thomas’ is due to his strong use of hateful tone and accusatory word choice to suggest that people who dispel propaganda and senseless arguments deserve hate. Thomas, for example, uses “Beside my hatred for one fat patriot / my hatred of the Kaiser is love true” (Thomas 5). Here, Thomas uses repetition of

In the article of who gets to be called the ‘patriot’ by Wesley Morris' and is also on patriotism, published in The New York Times .Accordingly the term patriotism means someone who supports their country dearly.While he is getting across is when it says “If your a black man, as Kaepernick is, your ambivalence about patriotic rituals may be a way of asking the same question Fisher raised: How lucky are we exactly?”(

While both contribute to national identity, “patriotism” and “nationalism” have clear distinctions. Nationalism differs from patriotism, as it breeds contempt towards other nations, and emphasizes superiority in comparisons. Patriotism represents devotion and love for one’s nation, without hostility towards others (Puncheva-Michelotti & Michelotti, 2014). As a proud Canadian, when I purchase clothing from the Canadian clothing retailer, Roots, I feel my behaviour is patriotic, as the brand encompasses my devotion to Canada. In contrast, when I hear someone say that he only purchases General Motors vehicles, as they are made in North America, I understand his consumption behaviour to be nationalist.

Before a discourse of the specified topic can be laid out, definitions of a few terms must be distinguished. Firstly, nationalism and patriotism are two distinctly different concepts that are often used interchangeably to represent a similar school of thought. By no means, are they mutually exclusive or unrelated ideologies, but nationalism and patriotism differ in their approaches to expressing love for one’s country, respectively. These definitions can be best understood on the shoulders of essayist and drama critic, Sydney J. Harris, “The Difference Between patriotism and nationalism is that the patriot is proud of his country for what it does, and the nationalist is proud of his country no matter what it does; the first attitude creates a feeling of responsibility while the second a feeling of blind arrogance that leads to a war (Harris, 1953).” While the latter definition may be a bit extreme, the general impression is still applicable. An understanding of the dichotomy between nationalism and patriotism, and how

Patriotism is a bundle of conflict within itself. Although patriotism is a show of immense support towards one country, it can be depicted wrongfully at times. In reference to that statement, consider the drama/anti-war film Paths of Glory, directed by none other than Stanley Kubrick, famous for other films such as the film adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shining, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and A Clockwork Orange. Paths of Glory is a film where soldiers in World War I refuse to execute an impossible attack, and their superior officers choose how to deal with their cowardice, and is transcendently humane over other movies in comparison. In addition, the film Paths of Glory criticizes acts of patriotism by depicting merciless, egomaniacal military captains, commanders, and officers. However, it blatantly ignores acts of patriotism that achieve results far beyond the normal expectation (even those of Kirk Douglas’ character, Colonel Dax, the primary protagonist of the film), so the film’s theme can blend in throughout the background of the important events of the film. Patriotism is not something to be taken lightly, and the film Paths of Glory is an example as to why and how it’s such a

Anti-patriotism is another form of showing to be an ideal global citizen. Promoting and what is heard often, “my country this, my county that” is not in favor of global citizens. One must be open to all forms of people and their cultures. A global citizen is one that can travel to any country and adjust to the customs or at least be open to them.