The Fall Of Patriotic Ideals

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.

In their book A Patriot’s History of the United States, Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen seem to generally believe in the superiority of Europeans to the rest of the world. Schweikart and Allen go out of their way to note the superiority of European fighting patterns, the virtuous motivations of Christian explorers, the justification of genocide, and even the selflessness of the Founding Fathers. Though not completely inaccurate, the bias in favor of the colonists leaves many perspectives completely out of the picture.

Throughout history; more specifically throughout different generations, we as human beings have been subject to a certain amount of change within our society. As time goes by change is almost inevitable among a nation. Change has occurred throughout history due to specific events that have a ripple effect upon individuals. Whether the change is a result of advancing technology, social climate, or foreign influence there is little chance of preventing the effect it will have on society. It is difficult to argue that we have not seen a paradigm shift in social attitudes from generation to

The biggest and most fervent effect of the Cold War on American culture was the state of anxiety that swept the nation. Americans have always harboured a fear of radicalism entering the country and destroying any parts of the government that give power to the people, but when the Cold War begun, this fear was immensely heightened. This time period became known as the “age of anxiety”.

Larry Schweikart believes despite the excessive racism, sexism, and bigotry throughout the history of the United States, when the story is told “fairly,” all that can be taken away is a sense of awe at the obstacles overcome, the blood split, and the nation built. Although corruption can be seen over the course of time, the freedom of the nation overcame all else and created a bright light of a society in a world of dark oppression. Schweikart emphasizes the idea that history is often taught from a single, biased perspective, clouding the true image of the American nation as it progressed over time. He also emphasizes the ideals of character, tied to liberty, tied to property, and how they were all necessary for success. More generally, Schweikart believes that throughout the history of the United States, it has proven time and time again to be a nation based on the principles of freedom and justice, exemplified through its actions in every aspect, such as the liberation of people’s and bringing them to a higher state of living, and the sharing of power with those who had none, no matter where they came from, or who they were. “All men are created equal”; the United states is the “last, best hope” of earth; and America “is great because it is good” all extend Schweikart’s basic ideals that the United States’ history, when viewed with the basic ideal of “the ends justify the means,” creates a story

In Elaine Taylor May’s article, Security against Democracy: The Legacy of the Cold War at Home, written in 2011, she argued that people were willing to forgo personal freedoms for national security. She provided the example of during the nuclear age of the cold war; Americans were more interested in protection rather than concern for the common good. However, as the cold war continued and domestic issues formed, the tight knit social order that was created in the early years was falling apart. She pointed to the start of the civil rights movement, the counterculture, the women’s movement, and the antiwar movement, started to challenge the social order and led to changes in society. The political campaigns shifted from stopping the

After the Civil War, the United State began to experience an industrial growth that was unparalleled to any nation. There were new advancements among America’s transportation, manufacturing and agriculture industries. While an economic growth was occurring in the nation, the national government was inactive, almost forgotten between all the new innovations achieved during the late 19th century. Looking back at the Industrial Revolution, there are many perspectives of the events that occurred during this time. Two readings on the late 19th century, The Patriot’s History of the United States, by Larry Schweikart and The People’s History of the United States, by Howard Zinn, have their own takes. The perspectives on the history, the tone

The Cold War propelled the United States of America into a seat of previously unattained power in the world . American citizens spearheaded the push toward advancement in their search for the epitome of happiness: the “American Dream”. Post-war paranoia was driven by the supposed threat of the spread of communism, which Americans feared could interfere with the freedoms and liberties the founding fathers fought to achieve. This paranoia eventually controlled the thoughts and actions of citizens everywhere. The Second Red Scare spread across America like a virus, leaving a trail of dread and despair in its wake. The fear of the growing communist regime, a lack of trust between citizens and the government, and a zealous streak of American pride drove the U.S. toward internal conflict and potential devastation.

The year is 1776. July 3, 1776. One day before a new country was born, the United States of America. The former colony of Great Britain has just finished it’s Declaration of Independence, and signing of the document by revolution leaders is planned for the next day. John Adams, a future American president and one of the writers of the Declaration itself, sends a letter to his wife, Jane, on this day. In this letter, he proclaimed that the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration should be "solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more." The next year, on the first anniversary of the signing, Congress itself ordained this tradition, enjoying "a grand exhibition of fireworks…” (Sneed).

In order to achieve this desired security Americans had to conform to other’s standards. Hyper-patriotism was the norm. If you were not patriotic then you were a communist. During this period of the

The current American way of war derived from cultural ideals of liberty, progress, and capitalism. Americans have sought moral clarity in war because of a commitment to liberty in the form of participatory democracy. During World War I and II, the US fought to spread this vision of liberty beyond American shores. Technology has been central to the American way of war because of Americans’ faith in progress. During the Cold War, concepts such as modernization theory linked the desire to build a better world with overseas economic improvement and technological innovation to

America is great, strong, beautiful, and proud but I believe some things could be announced more often. In the America I Believe in we have patriotic respect to our country, equality, and freedom of speech without being judged.

If you didn’t hear these things from your family you got them from the neighborhood, from the father down the street who fought in Korea, from the family who lost someone in jail or a demonstration. You could get a sense of patriotism from school and if all else failed you could get a sense of patriotism from pop culture, which at the time celebrated democratic values and reinforce the idea that America was special. Things began to change in the 90s, America didn’t have a big bad bear to focus hostilities on and started growing ambivalent. Patriotism was no longer in style. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise, and freedom itself began to be taken for

In the 1960’s, America’s intense nationalism was shattered by the horrors brought about by two consecutive World Wars. Thousands of Americans died fighting in what they saw as another man’s war, an eastern war. America experienced the pain of war and sought to avoid experiencing it ever again. But the world feared a newer, and more dangerous threat after the great wars: communism. When America’s government again wanted to become involved in the other man’s war, many young men and their families protested vehemently. When General Douglas MacArthur received an award from Westpoint, his acceptance address, entitled “Duty, Honor, Country,” morphed into a call to arms to the students, future military leaders, a reminder of the three ideals that

American history usually starts with Columbus and the famous myths surrounding the “founding” of the New World. As children we learn about how Columbus fought against all odds to convince the king and queen of Spain to fund his voyage to prove the world was not flat. As we grow in our understanding of history we find that most of the world, at that time, already knew the world was round. So why do we believe in these myths? We believe in these types of myths because they make the central character or characters appear larger than life, much like a Hollywood blockbuster. In the 2000 film the Patriot, directed by Ronald Emmerich, and distributed by Columbia Pictures; we follow the story of American Revolution as seen through the eyes of a