American Nationalism v Patriotism

Bush used what he called patriotism as a wedge to defend his disastrous policies.  But he was not being patriotic he was being nationalistic.  The difference between the two are often conflated by those like Bush and Cheney that want to use the word patriotism for political ends.

NATIONALISTS,

  • follow leaders blindly even into the abyss.
  • break the Constitution and justify any illegal actions like spying on Americans and torture usually in the guise of “security”.
  • try to stamp out free speech when legitimate opposition speaks out and think free speech is a right for corporations.
  • wantonly squander the lives brave troops to fight wars for their political and financial goals.
  • demonize the UN and has disdain for the international community.
  • claim American exceptionalism even when they use it as an excuse to not follow American ideals.
  • want to bring this country back to the 1850’s when this nation had many more social injustices just to maintain a false sense of control.
  • simply ignore problems and just say things like we have the best healthcare system in the world when it is far from true.
  • use slogans like “Country First” but demonize the opposition and destroy political discourse at the detriment of the country.
  • disdain community and sacrifice for the greater good.

PATRIOTS,

  • do blindly following political leaders, we support them when you agree with them but speak out when you do not.
  • follow the Constitution and rule of law.
  • believe in free speech and when America does something wrong speak out against it.
  • cherish the lives of brave troops and only sent them in to harms way when necessary as a last resort.
  • embrace the international community and want to work together for peace.
  • believe America is only exceptional when we live up to our ideals and prove we are exceptional like becoming the first majority ethnically European country to elect a half African president.
  • want to progress as a nation to make it a more perfect union for all it’s citizens by constantly fighting social injustices.
  • do not ignore this nation’s problems but tries fix them to make America a better place.
  • do not use politics as a wedge to divide people.
  • believe in shared sacrifice for the good of the country.

Nationalists are born out of nihilism, the worst kind of cynicism, these people want no progress and believe in an unfettered ruling, economic and social hierarchy.  They use patriotism as a cudgel to make people conform to the status quo.  The worst thing Bush did right after 911 was say all we needed to do was shop and blindly follow.  That was not a call to patriotism but the same selfish greed is good Reagan nationalism.

Of course there is nothing wrong with being proud of America and a patriotic American.  But true patriots are proud of America when we live up to our ideals.  Patriots are born out of the principles this country was founded by during the “Age of Enlightenment”.  Everyone should periodically read this countries founding documents along with the writings of Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau.  So you do not get too starry eyed in the Utopian views of the “Age of Enlightenment” thinkers I would also hone up on my Voltaire by reading “Candide” and read Tocqueville’s “Democracy in America” to get some perspectives about the limitations of any human society and inherent imperfections of our system.  Then we should read about and know our history of progress and yes setbacks so we really understand what being a patriotic American is all about in full context.   Trying to constantly examine how we got here, where we are and the possibilities for the future and act on it is the best way to show our patriotism.

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AlphaBitch
Member
AlphaBitch

How true – this is happening now with American healthcare – best in the world?? …according to many conservative nationalists… augh!

nellie
Member

Great topic, KQuark, and one that will always be relevant and important. I have to admit, I don’t understand Nationalism. It seems nothing more than slavishness to me — to allow any leadership to steer the country into ugliness simply because that leader is shouting at the top of his (her) lungs “We’re number one!” It just doesn’t compute. I will never understand what happened in Germany. I do not understand what is happening here. I can only conclude that some people are that stupid, that angry, that violent, and that hateful — and they are just looking for any excuse to act out. Under normal circumstances they would be controlled by the standards of the society. But when you have enough people in leadership positions saying that bad behavior is okay because “We’re number one!” it seems they can draw a crowd and build a following that’s hard to control.

Of course patriotism has its complications as well. I love this country, while being fully aware that it stole land from my ancestors, enslaved other ancestors, invaded and conquered still other ancestors. So much of our history is glossed over because, well, here we are and what are we going to do about it. But the principles that underly our constitution and the structure of our governance are things I truly treasure. What is our country? The principles and the structure, or the people who are using power? It can get very complicated.

Kalima
Admin

Gosh can I speak my mind here, yes and no, you are not like this, any of you. I love my new American friends.
TY & FY too sometimes. 🙂

AdLib
Admin

We love you too and you know this is one place where everyone can feel free to speak their minds.

escribacat
Member

We love you too, Kalima. I think I know what FY means but what is TY??? 🙂

AdLib
Admin

I look at corrupt leaders in politics, religion, whatever as believing first in their own power and profit and in the ideals they espouse last.

Think of the unending examples of Republicans, televangelists, etc.
who base their whole careers on preaching a narrow dogma that defines “good people”. They pronounce a vote for certain candidates or issues as “what loyal family values Americans” or “what loyal Christians who want to get into Heaven” must believe in and support with everything they’ve got.

As you and K7 say, I think the ones who truly believe least in what Republicans preach are the top Republican politicians writing and preaching their positions (the rank and file are far more genuine in their beliefs…or far more brainwashed) and I think the ones who believe least in Christ and his teachings are the religious “leaders” who use the fear of hell and damnation to manipulate their flocks into obedient sheep that enable the Republican agenda (and goes against their own interests).

DCTVixen
Member

Just look at C Street. Their belief that the reason they have the power is because God WANTED them to have that power, says it all. It’s OK to treat people like crap, because if God didn’t want you to, you wouldn’t be able to. I wouldn’t be surprised if many of them actually believe that.

KevenSeven
Member

One of my favorite subjects of thought, the difference between patriotism and nationalism.

I’m of the opinion that the less often you need to make a statement like “America is the greatest country ever”, the more likely it is to be true.

Kinda like guys who brag about the size of their schlong.

Athena
Member
Athena

You make a valid point, KevenSeven. But what is a “schlong” exactly? Is it like a beer mug or motorcycle?

KevenSeven
Member

I’ll show you tonight, sweetie.

javaz
Member

Oh my.
Well, I suppose that’ll beat looking at pussy cat vids.

escribacat
Member

Hallooo Athena. Good to see you over here.