maycocksean
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
This is a discussion I had with a fellow teacher last week. I'm curious to know what all of you think?
Is patriotism inherently a virtue? I know it certainly used to be considered one--you know "honesty, courage, kindness, patriotism etc. . ." This concept seems to be going out of style today. And if patriotism is a virtue, wouldn't that mean that we would expect all people to be "patriotic" about their own country.
I'll admitt I'm thinking of this primarily as an American, so bear with me, I think it can apply to all countries.
If indeed patriotism is a virtue, then wouldn't we as Americans expect people to be equally loyal to their country as we are to ours? And wouldn't that mean that we would find those who want to leave their own country and come to America as the "land of opportunity" or who desire to become American citizens as unpatriotic and thus perhaps morally lacking somehow?
Or when we say "patriotism is a virtue" don't we really mean that "loving America" (or whatever country you belong to) is a virtue--one that should be embraced by people the world over? After all, when someone betrays their country to help the U.S. we may consider that person a valiant "freedom fighter" or "dissident" while anyone who betrays our country is vile, coward. Our CIA covert agents are heroes, while "their" spies are conniving, evil people.
Is patriotism really just an acceptable level of nationalistic "my country is better than your country?" Am I oversimplifying things? What do you think?
For the record, I love my country and am very glad I'm a U.S. citizen. However, I'm not sure that such feelings are virtuous pe se, or worthy of special praise, though at the same time I don't think they are "wrong" and worthy of censure either. To me, pride in my country is similar to pride in my culture or family or hometown heritage. It's where I'm from and what has made me who I am and is in no way a judgement on anyone else's appreciation for their own nations.
I guess I think of patriotism as inherently neutral, rather than a specific virtue, with the potential to be either a good thing or a bad thing.
Is patriotism inherently a virtue? I know it certainly used to be considered one--you know "honesty, courage, kindness, patriotism etc. . ." This concept seems to be going out of style today. And if patriotism is a virtue, wouldn't that mean that we would expect all people to be "patriotic" about their own country.
I'll admitt I'm thinking of this primarily as an American, so bear with me, I think it can apply to all countries.
If indeed patriotism is a virtue, then wouldn't we as Americans expect people to be equally loyal to their country as we are to ours? And wouldn't that mean that we would find those who want to leave their own country and come to America as the "land of opportunity" or who desire to become American citizens as unpatriotic and thus perhaps morally lacking somehow?
Or when we say "patriotism is a virtue" don't we really mean that "loving America" (or whatever country you belong to) is a virtue--one that should be embraced by people the world over? After all, when someone betrays their country to help the U.S. we may consider that person a valiant "freedom fighter" or "dissident" while anyone who betrays our country is vile, coward. Our CIA covert agents are heroes, while "their" spies are conniving, evil people.
Is patriotism really just an acceptable level of nationalistic "my country is better than your country?" Am I oversimplifying things? What do you think?
For the record, I love my country and am very glad I'm a U.S. citizen. However, I'm not sure that such feelings are virtuous pe se, or worthy of special praise, though at the same time I don't think they are "wrong" and worthy of censure either. To me, pride in my country is similar to pride in my culture or family or hometown heritage. It's where I'm from and what has made me who I am and is in no way a judgement on anyone else's appreciation for their own nations.
I guess I think of patriotism as inherently neutral, rather than a specific virtue, with the potential to be either a good thing or a bad thing.