Patriotism In The United States

One of the things the United States is known for best is its rampant patriotism. Whether its 1930 or the present day, one thing remains the same Americans love their country. During special periods of time however, events happen that make Americas already fiery patriotism burn brighter. Many years ago during the period of time known as the “Red Scare” the United States mistrust of all things communist and anarchist led to very nationalistic feelings among the populace. After the 2001 9/11 terrorist attacks the country the country was left shaken. The fear of terrorist made the American rally behind their military and country even more than before.

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

While there is nothing inherently wrong with being patriotic, the US’s excessive ethnocentrism has led to problems with other countries.

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 the United States, it is not uncommon to see an American flag in someone’s yard or on a bumper sticker on a car. Americans are patriotic and this is evident throughout the year and especially on Independence Day. The American flag, the pledge of allegiance, and the national anthem are all national symbols. To many Americans, these symbols represent what the country stands for which is freedom and justice for all. Patriotism is common in the United States and it is this love of nation, the pride that one feels, and the loyalty to the country that many believe is what being an American is all about. Patriotism is ingrained in this nation since its founding and continues to be important today.

In Jensen’s talk, he also gives a quote of Emma Goldman’s that states, “Patriotism assumes that our globe is divided into little spots, each one surrounded by an iron gate. Those who had the fortune of being born on some particular spot, consider themselves better, nobler, grander, and more intelligent than the living beings inhabiting any other spot. It is, therefore, the duty of everyone living on that chosen spot to fight, kill, and die in the attempt to impose his superiority upon all others.” This sounds a lot more like what patriotism is today. War is something that has always existed and even in this modern day in age, it is still considered the best way to resolve conflict. Jensen feels war in Afghanistan is barbaric because of the fact that people seem to think that their lives are more valuable than Afghanistan citizens and if innocent Afghans have to die then so be it to achieve the goals of the United States. But, are the goals of the United States truly patriotic? What are the real goals of the United States as it embarks on a new war on Iraq? From an Afghani American’s standpoint Tamim Ansary compares modern day Afghanistan to Nazi Germany and he does a pretty good comparison when he states; “When you think Taliban, think Nazis. When you think bin

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.

Mark Twain once commentend that a patriot was, “the person who can holler the loudest without knowing what he is hollering about.”, implying that the majority of patriots do not know why they are patriotic. Americans are taught from birth to love the United States of America; if an American does not absolutely love America, then they must despise it, an act certainly shameful. Most Americans find themselves devoted before ever asking if the U.S. deserves devotion. Philosopher Carol Nicholson writes in her article, .Why I Am Not A Patriot, “Fixing love on an abstraction such as ‘country’ leads to...a recipe for intolerance, hate, and war.”. Devotion to a country is not wrong-a country could not grow unless its citizens had a degree of pride for it-the danger comes when people stop asking why, and not only stop questioning, but also believe their country is

The source states that nationalistic ideals can very easily cause harm to the citizens of a nation, and can also alter their thoughts and actions. This clearly suggests that it opposes nationalism; in fact, the source condemns nationalism by saying that it is to blame for most of the genocides that have occurred in the twentieth century. This indicates that any feeling of pride toward one’s own country can, given time, become devastating. This patriotic emotion, according to the source, has the full potential to inflate and to become an ultranationalistic feeling strong enough to spark conflict with other nations. In addition, the source mentions that flags are “bits of colored cloth that governments use first

As countries around the world become more developed, some subscribe to the ideology of nationalism, which puts one’s own country above all others, specifically in diplomacy. From an extremely wealthy and powerful perspective, the United States of America claims to be one of the best countries in the world, but how do they contribute politically in worldwide progression? More recently, the idea of Nationalism in the U.S supports the same concept of many other countries across the globe. As these prejudiced opinions are used to simply prove a fallacy, it weakens the governmental aspects that make up a country. Nationalism leads to independent and prideful countries, however it causes interregional and international problems relating to politics.

Every Fourth of July we get to celebrate our country’s independence and various of us bring out our patriotism on this special day. For most people it consists of gathering around and making a barbecue whilst enjoying the freedom that our founding fathers fought for. Although nowadays the endeavor of denotation for patriotism with the evolving world and decisions in our government that we do not yet understand, but as a country we need to ensemble. As long as we stand together as a government by the people and for the people we can get through anything. Patriotism isn’t just about a single holiday it means that you’re reasonable with football players kneeling during the national anthem because soldiers fought for their right to do so. Several people won’t agree with my point of view, but this is what patriotism means to me it’s the fact that the general public can make our voice heard and

The Jewish Holocaust is an example of this hate brought about by nationalism. Hitler's belief that Aryans were superior to other races led to Jewish people becoming a scapegoat for all problems. Hitler did not see Jews as people, dehumanizing and demonizing them. Hitler wrote, “...the personification of the devil as the symbol of all evil assumes the living shape of the Jew.” (Adolf Hitler, Mein Kampf). Hitler desired to make Germany a great nation after the first World War and in order to do so, he saw the removal of Jews as completely necessary. Six million Jewish lives were lost due to Hitler’s actions drove by the force of nationalism. Germany’s ultra-nationalistic beliefs justified the bloodshed of millions of innocent people. Nationalism causes nations to prioritize their own people and country to the point of hating other races. Despicable racism arises from feelings of nationalistic superiority. Although a certain amount of patriotism and pride of a nation is healthy and important, it can turn into nationalistic racism. Charles de Gaulle states the dangers of this concept saying, “Patriotism is when love of your own people comes first; nationalism, when hate for people other than your own comes first.” (Charles de Gaulle) As nationalistic feelings in people grow, evil

It seems that patriotism is one of the most common terms used during times of war. Governments often use propaganda about nationalism to advocate their political views of the hostilities. Sometimes they even force patriotism on their constituents with fear-mongering techniques, which can have dangerous implications. That’s not to say that patriotism is inherently bad—many wars have been won for just causes because of it. However, it is a mistake to only think of war at a national level. There are devastating effects on the soldiers, families, and victims of war hostilities. The stories read this week discuss the struggle between concern for macro-society (patriotism) and micro-society (family/personal interests) during war. While no

Nationalism can trigger unsafe considerations however can likewise mend old injuries. What's more, with prompt access to thoughts and data because of TV and the web, we should ask ourselves, what is patriotism and is it a sound a portion of today's general public?

“Nationalism Is Not Necessarily a Bad Thing”, this is an article recently written by Michael Barone who claims that Nationalism is not always so bad. The author believes that if Nationalism is understood properly, it can be used as a driving force to unite disparate people into a society with a responsible government to guard them against foreign attacks. He thinks that Nationalist, being the citizens, feel stronger bond with their country. Thus, they consider serving their country as their responsibility and expect the government to protect its people. Micheal Barone argues that each nation has established its own particular culture, its own traditions, and its own written and unspoken rules; thus, a mindful nationalist must respect the norms and values of other nations. However, I believe the evidences he used are not relevant enough to support his claims; therefore, I oppose his standing that Nationalism is not a necessarily a bad thing.