Patriotism

With the Independence Day holiday coming up, it seems a good time to discuss the whole issue of patriotism, a concept that is often poorly uhderstood. I was struck by a column by Molly Ivins on Bush's tax cuts that appeared in the June 23 issue of Liberal Opinion Week.  In it she recounts appearing on a panel with the ultra reactionary (he's no "conservative") Bill O'Reilly.  Ivins quoted a very rich resident from her home in Waco, TX, Mr. B. Rapoport, who said, "Look, you make $50,000 a year and pay $8,000 in income taxes. That won't send you to the poorhouse (though it may) put a crimp in your budget.  I make a million dollars a year (and) pay $400,000 in income taxes.  That leaves me $600,000 a year to live on.  You gonna feel sorry for me?  I'm still rich."

Ivins says O'Reilly's response was, "Yeah, but I don't want to keep your (sic) money and give it to someone else.  You should keep your money. "   Ivins points out in her column that neither her tax money, or Mr. Rapoport's is being given "to someone else." It is being given to their country, the country that allowed Mr. Rapoport to become rich in the first place.  It seems to me that this is the basis of real patriotism:  giving to your country to enable it to function for the good of all.

Ivins continues, "The preamble to the Constitution says this country was established 'In order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity.'  Roads, schools, prisons, courthouses, bridges, dams and sewage systems are all necessary, as are health and education.  That's why we pay taxes..."  To me that's being patriotic.  It's unpatriotic to allow those who can afford to pay taxes to avoid them, either by granting them tax cuts they don't need or (in the case of many big corporations) to escape paying taxes at all by allowing off-shore tax shelters.

The idea that real patriotism is love of one's country, not love of any particular government and not merely an orgy of flag waving, emotional speeches, stirring music or fireworks based on fear, insecurity or intolerance of others, is expressed in this article.  --  Bryce

THE REAL PATRIOTISM
MoveOn Bulletin Op-Ed
by Zack Exley

Patriotism is love of country. But love comes in many forms: deep, permanent and unconditional, as well as superficial, fleeting and with strings attached. Too often in America, expressions of patriotism seem to flow from our perceived status as "number one" -- number one in terms of military might, wealth, freedom, and democracy. Our leaders remind us in nearly every speech they make that we live in the "greatest, freest, most just nation on Earth." They remind us so often, that one can't help but wonder if they really do believe it. That is a patriotism borne of fear, confusion and insecurity.

What if America wasn't -- or isn't -- number one? Would we still love our country then? Suggest American fallibility, and you may find yourself labeled a traitor. But how, then, are we to find our way to a better America, if this superficial, insecure patriotism prevents us from naming problems that need fixing and traits that need changing?

The solution is to reject false, jingoistic patriotism, and to embrace a patriotism based on the unconditional love of one's country. Note: that's unconditional love, not unconditional approval. Like a parent loves a child, or a child a parent, we love our country because it is OUR country. Period. (emphasis mine - BB)

Beware: this type of patriotism brings with it much more responsibility than the kind based on superficial, conditional love. Once you accept responsibility for your country in the way that a parent does for a child -- or a child for a parent -- then you're really committed. When your country misbehaves, you can't just roll your eyes as if you had nothing to do with it.
 
Too many on the left have tried to absolve themselves of responsibility for their country by saying "that's my government, not me." Too many on the right have tried to erase the responsibility governments have to represent all the people by saying, "Love it (read 'agree with me') or leave it!"

Perhaps as old political categories such as left and right lose their relevance, we can aim for a new political unity based on a new kind of patriotism. Let's leave behind the hollow patriotism which is based on disdain for and fear of others. Instead, let's define a new patriotism -- one that expresses our unconditional love for America and lives up to our responsibility to our fellow Americans.
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Here's another take on patriotism by historian Howard Zinn. 

My Country: The World  
Howard Zinn is an historian and author of A People's History of the United States.

Our government has declared a military victory in Iraq. As a patriot, I will not celebrate. I will mourn the dead -- the American GIs, and also the Iraqi dead, of which there have been many, many more.

I will mourn the Iraqi children, not just those who are dead, but those who have been blinded, crippled, disfigured, or traumatized, like the bombed children of Afghanistan who, as reported by American visitors, lost their power of speech. The American media has not given us a full picture of the human suffering caused by our bombing; for that, we need to read the foreign press.

We will get precise figures for the American dead, but not for the Iraqis. Recall Colin Powell after the first Gulf War, when he reported the "small" number of U.S. dead, and when asked about the Iraqi dead, Powell replied: "That is really not a matter I am terribly interested in."

As a patriot, contemplating the dead GIs, should I comfort myself (as, understandably, their families do) with the thought: "They died for their country." If so, I would be lying to myself. Those who die in this war will not die for their country. They will die for their government. They will die for Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld. And yes, they will die for the greed of the oil cartels, for the expansion of the American empire, for the political ambitions of the President. They will die to cover up the theft of the nation's wealth to pay for the machines of death.

The distinction between dying for our country and dying for your government is crucial in understanding what I believe to be the definition of patriotism in a democracy.

According to the Declaration of Independence -- the fundamental document of democracy -- governments are artificial creations, established by the people, "deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed", and charged by the people to ensure the equal right of all to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Furthermore, as the Declaration says, "whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it."

When a government recklessly expends the lives of its young for crass motives of profit and power, always claiming that its motives are pure and moral ("Operation Just Cause" was the invasion of Panama and "Operation Iraqi Freedom" in the present instance) it is violating its promise to the country. It is the country that is primary -- the people, the ideals of the sanctity of human life and the promotion of liberty. War is almost always a breaking of those promises (although one might find rare instances of true self defense). It does not enable the pursuit of happiness, but brings despair and grief. 
 
With the war in Iraq won, shall we revel in American military power and, against the history of modern empires, insist that the American empire will be beneficent?

The American record does not justify confidence in its boast that it will bring democracy to Iraq. Should Americans welcome the expansion of the nation's power, with the anger this has generated among so many people in the world? Should we welcome the huge growth of the military budget at the expense of health, education, the needs of children, one-fifth of whom grow up in poverty?

I suggest that a patriotic American who cares for his country might act on behalf of a different vision. Instead of being feared for our military prowess, we should want to be respected for our dedication to human rights.

Should we not begin to redefine patriotism? We need to expand it beyond that narrow nationalism which has caused so much death and suffering. If national boundaries should not be obstacles to trade -- we call it globalization -- should they also not be obstacles to compassion and generosity?

Should we not begin to consider all children, everywhere, as our own? In that case, war, which in our time is always an assault on children, would be unacceptable as a solution to the problems of the world. Human ingenuity would have to search for other ways.

Tom Paine used the word "patriot" to describe the rebels resisting imperial rule. He also enlarged the idea of patriotism when he said: "My country is the world. My countrymen are mankind."

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Finally, here's another article that I won't post but will provide a link for.
TOUGH LOVE
Michelle Chihara, AlterNet
The author, daughter of a Japanese-American interned in the camps during WW II, grew up equating patriotism with constant vigilance. Check out the quote from Michelle, below. You can read the full article by going to:
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11930
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I know this is long, but especially at this holiday season, and when aspersions are being cast on the patriotism of those of us who have been critical of our government's actions, I think it's essential 
that we take a long look at just what patriotism really is.  Thanks for reading.  --  Bryce

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"My country is the world. My religion is to do good."  --  Thomas Paine

"If we've learned anything from history, it's that during times of crisis we most need to keep watch over our government's actions. Patriotism must always involve passionate and constructive critiques of the U.S. By speaking out against policies or trends I disagree with, I'm trying to hold the U.S. to the highest standards of excellence, to everything that I believe it stands for."  --  Michelle Chihara