So, given the political climate on our nation’s 243rd birthday, I’m going where angels fear to tread.
Let’s look at what psychology and sociology tell us about patriotism and patriots. After all, we assign those labels to the fellows who signed the Declaration of Independence, which is what this holiday is about. As an aside, more than 40% of Americans get it wrong when asked what the Fourth of July commemorates.
Regardless, sociologists attribute patriotism to “tribalism.” Tribes were the initial social structures humans created to further their survival. Which is why patriotism, the modern version of tribalism, can be such an emotionally charged mindset. It’s about belonging and group identity. That’s not to say patriotism means the same thing to everyone, or that feeling patriotic requires adhering to a particular ideology, which it does not.
Now, tribalism is all but universal. We are a social species that, like other ones (bees, wolves, whales, ants, elephants, etc.), tends to gather into groups of various sizes and compositions. From the few existing tribal societies that remain today to the engorged nation states with millions of residents, we are birds of a feather.
At its worst, tribalism stirs the demons in the human psyche. Patriotism, in particular, can become “the virtue of the vicious” (Oscar Wilde), Nazi Germany being a horrendous but not rare example. At its best, patriotic spirit becomes a force for good, as in the generosity of the American people in responding to natural disasters across the globe (of late, we citizens do better with this than our government).
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As an instrument of survival, patriotic leanings have, at various times, upheld our republic, beginning with the Revolutionary War and including World War II, when democracy was under assault. Inversely, it was also the driving force in our bloody Civil War, where citizens on both sides felt a patriotic duty to fight for their different ways of life.
One positive impact of patriotism is its capacity to unify people who might otherwise focus more on their differences than commonalities. From early in our nation’s history, this has been a persistent theme. Studies show that, overall, Americans exhibit more patriotic fervor than most other peoples. Why? Because we need a sense of national ego to remember what binds us together. The diversity brought about by multiple waves of immigration, beginning early in the 19th century and continuing today, challenges our ability to define what it means to be an American.
So, what does it mean to be patriotic? For some, it involves unquestioned loyalty to one’s nation (“My country, right or wrong, but my country”), while, for others, it requires protesting and criticizing one’s government when it fails to uphold the common good.
Usually, the dispute over who claims the mantle of patriot involves how one prioritizes core values. If one highly values personal freedom, he or she may not like flag burning, for example, but still respect the constitutional right to do it. If, instead, one strongly values tradition and loyalty, then such an act may feel disrespectful, much like a personal affront, or even treasonous.
Perhaps it comes down to this. If one acts in a way that creates and upholds the good of his or her fellow citizens (country), rather than purely one’s self-interest or that of some klatch of greedy opportunists (the political-industrial complex), then that person may qualify as a patriot. As Mark Twain stated, “Loyalty to country, always. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
True patriots, then, do not serve egoism, blind nationalism or greedy self-interest. So, when those with political and economic power wield patriotic symbols, ceremonies and platitudes to divide us and turn us against our common humanity, they are not patriots. They are engaging in what George Washington called “the impostures of pretended patriotism”—feigning to be patriots in order to deceive us and further their selfish aims.
Don’t buy it.
For more, visit philipchard.com.
